Pros
Business Casual environment in-lieu of the traditional Paramilitary/regimented Law Enforcement structure.
Cons
Moderate to High Call Volume, Call/Incident types similar to City agencies, Very low pay, low morale, lack of sufficient shift coverage causing increased risk to Officer Safety. Lack of tactical training. This agencies main issue is rooted in the way the University views its own Police Department. Since the Police Department goes not generate revenue, the University likes to get by on providing minimal funds to the agency. Officers hired under the base pay of $36,500 can see a steady raise of about $00.40 cents per year, which is less than the rate of inflation. You will be losing money working here. You are not allowed to work extra jobs either, since the University inherently doesn’t trust you and you would be representing them on extra jobs. In addition to regular police calls such as burglaries, motor vehicle accidents and domestics, officers are also expected to handle tedious calls special to campus policing, such as taking police reports for lost property. Officers are being paid less to do more at this agency. You are also under intense scrutiny. Even the slightest use of (justified) force triggers an Internal Affairs investigation that will go in your permanent employee file. Allot of Officers are hesitant to act in situations that require prompt action. The greatest con, which is caused by the low pay, is that patrol shifts are operating at below minimal staffing. An area roughly the size of a small town and a fixed population of 15,000 and up to 150,000 during business days with visitors is protected by 2-3 patrol officers on a regular day. Also as a result of the low budget, equipment is very out dated. The agency does not even have gun-lights or in car access to GCIC/NCIC to conduct warrant checks.