The Community Safety Centers are one of the forces that help ensure security on NIU’s campus.

The Community Safety Centers, established in July of 2002, have a University Police officer in each of the Residence Halls as well as in the Northern View Community. They look to not only reduce crime by police presence, but they also hope to educate the students and staff about crime prevention.

“We’re there as a resource for the students,” said Lt. Todd Henert of the University Police.

They also look to establish a relationship with the students and staff, thereby building a sense of familiarity between the police and the community.

“The same officer works in the same building with the same staff; you build rapport with the staff and students in the community,” Henert said. “It makes the police department more accessible and more part of the community.”

The Community Safety Centers feature two different types of officers: the HELP officers (Housing Education Liaison Program) and the CAP officers (Coordination Analysis Program).

HELP officers work as a liaison between the department of public safety and residence hall staff. If there is a safety issue, HELP officers can share that information with housing staff and vice versa, Henert said.

“They also provide educational programs in the residence halls, such as drug/alcohol abuse and awareness, crime prevention and campus safety tips,” Henert said.

CAP officers deal with crime analysis, crime mapping and investigation, said Lt. Darren Mitchell of the UP.

The efforts of the Community Safety Centers have produced positive results.

“It is the cornerstone of our community policing efforts here on campus,” Mitchell said. “I was the first sergeant to be in charge of HELP, and during that first year, we were able to reduce crime [in the residence halls] 59.32 percent – that was proof positive that the program works.”

Mitchell also mentioned that NIU is one of two schools that utilize such a program, the other being the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. This is because Chief Matt Kiederlen, former NIU University Police lieutenant, established the program after moving there two years ago.

One student feels the program is positive, yet there must be an effort made to let the students know that such a program exists.

“It sounds like a good idea, but the students aren’t aware of it, so it basically defeats the purpose,” said Bethany Lager, a sophomore music education major.