Night rides for safety
Public Safety has reinstated the Student Night Auxiliary Patrol (SNAP) to help maintain students’ feelings of safety. Student volunteers in this program will help Public Safety chiefly in providing an extra set of eyes and an escort to students around campus or some surrounding apartments.
The program was last used in 2005, but was discontinued after the Department of Parking and Transportation split from Public Safety. SNAP consists of eight volunteers, each who have committed to serving four to six hours per week. Public Safety searched for highly motivated students who had some interest in law enforcement.
Officer Greg Williams has taken the lead in organizing SNAP, and has filled all eight positions, but is continually accepting applications for new candidates.
“Having this program,” Williams said, “will mainly help because the volunteers will not be restricted by the call volume or business of the Police Department. The students will be more accessible.”
The students involved with SNAP do not have the authority of a police officer, but have the responsibility to report any crimes they see while on patrol.
SNAP was not created with the intention of being a drunk shuttle. Freshman Evan Karanovich, known to dispatch as “one-three-seven,” emphasizes that his responsibility as a SNAP member comes mainly from his civic duty.
Milledgeville and the GCSU community “cannot tolerate drunk drivers,” he said, “it is everybody’s civic duty to call that guy out if they see him getting into a car to drive blatantly drunk.”
The focal importance of SNAP does not come from its late-night weekend duties. SNAP will run Sunday to Thursday every school week. It will run from 8:00PM to midnight Sunday through Tuesday, and 8:00PM to 2:30AM on Wednesday and Thursday. These hours were designed to help those people who simply need an escort.
The volunteers began their training on Thursday, January 15. Evan was very excited to start his training.
“As a student, I want GCSU to have the best and safest campus possible,” Karanovich said, “What we are doing is being proactive; we are out to help the common good of all.”
This Tuesday was the first day the program ran at night. They escorted 16 people, mainly from the library to the residence halls.
The benefits of the program heavily outweigh its costs. SNAP costs nearly nothing, only a one-time expense for their shirts which will be covered by SGA. The golf carts used are borrowed from Physical Operations, and the radios were already owned by Public Safety. In addition to the benefits for all GCSU students, it will also help the volunteers gain hands-on experience in making a difference to the safety of their peers.
To contact SNAP during these hours, call Public Safety at (478) 445-4054. An officer will send a radio dispatch to the volunteer. Otherwise, students can recognize one to flag down on the street by their distinctive green polo shirts. Also, more information can be found on their Facebook group, “GCSU S.N.A.P.”
Officer Williams hopes that SNAP will continue to be helpful to the student body.
“We will continue to run this program as long as the students want it,” Williams said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Jan 23 2009. Filed under News.
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