LAW AND ORDER: MUNCIE STYLE
CHRIS SIMMONS + JOE RUSHKA
Sergeant Seth Stanley of the MPD believes that there is a two-way street between the community and the police department. The MPD cannot properly do its job without the help of the community because there are only so many police officers and they cannot possibly monitor everything that happens in the community. They need citizens’ help to not just react to crime, but to prevent it in the first place. The community needs the police department’s help because without it, crime would run rampant. Helping one another benefits both parties, especially if they can work together and communicate with each other.
Sergeant Stanley and Chief of the MPD, Steven Stewart, are both proud of the work the MPD has done to increase its presence in the community from events and programs such as the “Use of Force” demonstration/lecture Sgt. Stanley put on just two weeks ago to the “Christmas Heroes and Helpers” event held last December where officers were given $100 to spend on a child they each took individually shopping to Target.
"Christmas Heroes and Helpers" Photo courtesy of Star Press
The Ball State University Police Department is also very active in its community and run its own programs and events to meet the public. They also work constantly with the Muncie Police Department, so collaboration is a common between the two departments.
One of University Police’s more popular programs of late has been “Lunch with a Cop.” This program is exactly what it says; students at Ball State sit down and have lunch with one or more University Police officers. This meeting can be as formal or informal as the participants want it to be. They can ask just about any questions (police related or not) that they can think of.
Sergeant John Foster has been doing “Lunch with a Cop” since its creation last fall. He says enjoys every opportunity he has to meet students and show them that police officers are friendly people and not scary robots who are “out to get you.”
“I truly appreciate this program and others we have like it where we get a chance to get out of our patrol cars and truly get to interact with students on campus without having to arrest somebody and look like the bad guys or the party poopers,” said Foster. “We don’t want to be seen as just that, we do understand that this is a college campus and people are going to do things that aren’t necessarily smart, but that doesn’t make them bad people that need to be arrested.”
Blayne Compton, junior criminal justice major at Ball State, has noticed certain things that the departments are doing to become more involved in the community. He says the police are engaging in community oriented policing and he thinks there could be a few reasons this is happening.
“The police department tries to improve their image by engaging in more community oriented policing. This is where they work with Muncie residents to try and decrease crime rates. They may establish programs to combat the high drug problem within Muncie,” said Compton. “The police may establish programs to reach out to disorganized neighborhoods to try and better the socio-economic status in the community. If the socio-economic status improves then residents will be less likely to commit criminal acts and provide a better sense of living for them. This can not only decreases adult crime rates but juvenile delinquency as well.”
Sgt. Foster also has a couple personal reasons for wanting to get so involved in his community.
“I also enjoy talking to students because I personally feel that if we are able to have that good interaction and put a name to a face, then down the road if we meet under more troublesome circumstances we can handle it better because we already know each other.”
Sgt. Stanley feels similar to Sgt. Foster, but has a slightly different philosophy when it comes to his work and his community. “I simply believe that there is a problem and a solution to everything. If you are not part of the solution than you are a part of the problem.”
No matter who you talk to in these departments they will all echo roughly the same two sentiments; that they are people just like us (not some mean androids who are out to stop all fun) and they truly care about their community and the people that live there.
