In June of 1987, a joint venture between the Department of Residence Life and the University Police Department developed the Community Service Officer or "CSO" program. The program is funded by the Department of Residence Life and the University Police Department. The University Police Department does the hiring, training, and supervision for the program.

Funding for the community service officer program, to include work-study and student assistance, comes from two separate budgets. Generally, the Department of Residence Life budgets for all hours students perform a security officer function and our department budgets for all hours students perform dispatching duties. Additional hours of student dispatching duties are budgeted for by the Department of Residence Life. This contribution was initiated to provide a means for dispatching and record keeping of the community service officer program.

Students involved in the CSO program are cross‑trained as dispatchers and as security officers to better utilize the departments pool of student employees and to give each student employee a much more diverse background in law enforcement and security functions.

Originally the CSO program was developed to enhance security and other forms of community assistance primarily in the residence hall environment and those areas which are frequented by residence hall students and staff. This purpose remains unchanged today. Although, the security officers primary areas of responsibility are in and around the residence halls, there has been an immeasurable positive impact on the entire university.

In 1987 the program started with three student employees and now has grown to include as many as eleven student employees. The CSOs are provided with two-way portable radios, flashlights, residence hall keys, and uniform shirts and jackets with insignia. Hours worked are generally late afternoons or evenings/early mornings depending on the time of year and the corresponding activity level of the community population. All CSOs have received a minimum of 56 hours of defined inter-departmental training before they start regular duty. Those who will function as dispatchers must also complete and pass a four hour course presented by the Wisconsin Time System on mobile data terminal use. The CSOs are worked in pairs in the field and this "team arrangement" has worked well.

Specific security officer duties of the position include physically checking for security and maintenance related problems in residence halls, grounds areas, parking lots and walkways. CSOs often assist both residents and non-residents with basic informational and service related problems, providing a welcomed and professional representation of the university.

CSOs do on occasion observe incidents such as disturbances or criminal behavior firsthand. Although, they are to avoid direct intervention in such situations, their two-way radios allow them to call in directly to the university police dispatcher and the responding police officer. CSOs are very helpful witnesses when these incidents occur.

The CSOs have also been called upon to assist university police officers with fire alarms, ambulance calls, and other non-violent emergency and non-emergency situations. Positive comments about the program have been received from students, staff, and visitors (such as EAA guests). This feedback and the demonstrated performance level of the CSOs make the program a successful addition to the university in furthering its goal to make this a more safe and secure environment to live in and obtain an education.

When a CSO works in the capacity of a dispatcher, a university police officer is relieved from the dispatching function. This enables the officer to work in the field where his or her training and services are best utilized. This department must maintain a minimum staffing of one employee in the office and one police officer in the field at all times. The number of officers in the field can vary from one to three or more. When a CSO works in the capacity of a security officer, it gives our department and the university another set of "eyes and ears" on campus which further enhances the safety and security of university faculty, staff and students, and property.

Due to budgetary constraints and reductions several areas of the security officer program have been modified. One area of change was a reduction in shift working hours, where the CSOs security shifts were modified. Their work hours were modified so they coincided with the increased activity as determined by crime statistics. The security shift is assigned to duty only during times when school is in session. Security responsibilities are not lessened, because university police officers have always been charged with this task.

We continue to observe an increase in the awareness of the CSO program by the number of personal contacts our CSOs have experienced and the ever growing student application pool for this position.

Statistics have been kept to help indicate some of the work product of the CSOs. The following list includes basic descriptions and frequency level of the duties performed most often during 2000.

Building Checks: 6272

This refers to the number of times a residence hall or nearby university building was checked for security and maintenance related problems.

Security Discrepancies: 600

These are the number of security breaches found during building checks. These most often include unsecured doors and windows, exposed equipment and related problems which have been corrected and/or reported by the CSO.

Maintenance Discrepancies: 205

This often includes burned out lights, electrical, mechanical, water or other problem requiring repairs. Some of these repairs have required immediate call-in. Others result in a work-order being generated.

Service Cards: 60

These are pre-selected services which require a card to be punched at the University Police Department. Most often they are related to motorist assistance, special admittance to an authorized area, or securing an area/room for the Residence Life staff.

Checks of telephones: 829

Each residence hall has one or more telephones located near outside entrances. The CSOs check these telephones to make sure they are functioning properly. They also check each elevator, blue light and red emergency phone on campus each week.

CSO Generated Incident Reports: 64

These refer to incidents which the CSOs observe on their own and are of a nature as to require calling a University Police Officer to handle, resulting in a police report.

Department Generated Incident Reports: 48

These are incidents where a University Police Officer has requested the CSOs assistance. These situations are of a non-violent nature and often are fire/medical related.

Public Assistance Contacts: 8473

These are public contacts which do not qualify for a "service card". Most often these are requests for directions and general information.