Continually improve the support services to internal constituents.

To enhance crime prevention and safety across campus.

To enhance crime prevention and safety across campus, the University Police Department will actively engage in making presentations.  These presentations are normally requested through the Department of Residence Life, Enrollment Management, and other requesting departments.  The purpose of these presentations is to inform the campus community of current trends recognized by this department and to provide general advice.  In order to evaluate this, our department will compare crime statistics for reported on campus crimes and conduct a survey of the participants who attend the presentation made by the officer.  The purpose of the survey will be to evaluate how the material is received and if the program needs changes. Presentations will be rated Above Average on all survey questions.

During the academic 2013-2014 year, a group of officer (who volunteer their time) developed a CORE Program.  CORE (Community Out-Reach Effort) has been designed to reach the many different student groups across campus, faculty & staff, athletic programs, and outside University constituents.  The education that is presented at these functions covers a spectrum of topics.  Receiving returned evaluations for these programs has been minimal at best, and we have heavily relied on anecdotal data from the consumer.  Since the CORE Program has been instituted we have seen an increase in the number of requested programs and we have seen a decrease in the number of reported property crimes concerning personal property.

Our departmental officers continue to work with the PACE Center in making presentations to faculty and staff in reference to critical incidents that could occur on campus. At this time there is no measurable data that has been provided by the PACE Center for this current academic year.

During the 2013 – 2014 year, a structured evaluation form was handed out; however, we continue to have issues having the document returned to our programmers or having students fill out the form who attend these presentations.  One of our goals for the CORE Team in the up-coming year will be to develop a better form for measure and obtain right after the program is delivered.  In looking at the number of requested presentations however; the comments that we receive from our constituents, and current data showing a decline in the number of reported property crimes (thefts) we believe that these programs developed by the CORE Team have been highly successful, and have helped build better relationships with the University community.  

Efficient use of resources

Provide efficient operations in comparison to similar Universities.

The University Police Department will evaluate and compare number of students enrolled in a similar university and the number of full time police officers who work at the institution.  This comparison will help the department to evaluate and compare how other university police department personnel compare to current full time officer to student ratio.

Currently, through our experience, our administrative staff has noted that other university police departments are set up in a similar manner and provide the same basic services as we do.  Also, departments outside of university law enforcement gauge population to officer ratios to help determine a need for officer resources.  A general number that is used for comparisons is one officer for every 1,000 in population (students/ faculty/staff). SHSU UPD’s ratio/population will be comparable (1/1000 = 5.5%) to other universities our size or even lower (ideal = 1/800 = 4.5%).    

In reviewing the growth of the University over this current 2013-2014 academic year, a request was made for two additional police officers and three more full time dispatchers.  During the budgeting process, these positions were approved for September 1, 2014.  The addition of the positions will keep at our ideal ratio as defined by this university.

The department will evaluate the number of parking citations issued to the number of parking citations that are paid per year.  Although this is not a main staple of our budget, the parking citation revenue is used to offset the revenue not generated through the sale of parking permits.  This indicator can provide trends and better help plan for future budget needs. Our ongoing goal for the future is to have $250,000 in reserve for infrastructure maintenance.

Parking and Transportation have implemented a couple of changes that will impact forecasting for FY15.  First, all student permits are provided only in a decal format rather than hangtag due to integrity issues with misuse of permits and counterfeiting current permit designs.  In addition to this change, we should see an increase in student permits sold for customers that would like to purchase an additional permit for a second registered vehicle.  In the past, a hangtag could be transferred from a customer’s vehicle where the decal cannot.  A 10 percent increase on annual permit costs was approved for FY15. 

Citation fines experienced a small 1 percent increase between FY13 and FY14.  There is not an identifiable trend to clearly define the increase in citations.  We forecast citation revenue to be similar in FY15 to FY14 with the exception of No Permit violations.  No Permit violations are the number one violation on campus.  The change from hangtags to decals for students should decrease the number of No Permit violations under the basis that the permit cannot be removed without being destroyed.  Many of the No Permit violations issued in FY14 were due to the customers forgetting their hangtag or leaving it in an alternate vehicle.  The table below identifies citation fines transferred successfully from T2 to Banner Accounts and the total amount of citations issued for the fiscal year.

 

Fiscal Year

Citation Fines Transferred to Banner (Provided by Cognos)

Total Citations Issued

FY13

291,407.75

18,836 (provided by T2)

FY 14

298,222.00 (as of July 29, 2014)

19,102 (provided by T2)

 

The Sam Houston Parking Garage continues to produce revenue through semester contract spaces and timed parking through gated access control.  We forecast continued use of the garage with our timed parking format due to high demand of spaces located closer to the heart of campus.

Fiscal Year

Transactions Completed (Provided by T2)

Total Dollars Collected (Provided by T2)

FY13

51,193

$195,772.25    

FY14

53,558

$208,552.00

With one month left in Fiscal 14, it appears that we have continued to meet our ratio of police officers to students.  In addition this, we have received tremoudous support from the University Administration in obtaining an overall of five new positions to maintain our ratios and continue to provide an excellent service to the University community.

And, based on the most current available numbers for fiscal 14, the Parking and Transportation Office has met or will meet the projected revenue for this year.  Once again, our goal for fiscal 2015 will be to meet an increased projected revenue since an increase in the parking permit structure was approved.  It should be noted that these revenues will be used to offset the cost of the five new positions and continued support to parking infrastructure.