Last week, the SA announced that Public Safety will outfit the department’s fleet of vehicles with cruise lights as a new crime-prevention initiative. These lights offer constant illumination around the vehicle in the familiar blue-and-red of law enforcement.
DPS officers may use these lights when patrolling on University roadways or property, as well as during area checks in the neighborhoods surrounding the University. Officers will not use the lights during traffic stops or emergency situations, where they will instead use the flashing lights that they have used in the past.
SA President and senior Jamal Holtz, who serves on the Public Safety Advisory Board and DPS Student Advisory Board, proposed the adoption of cruise lights. By making officers on duty more noticeable from a distance, the initiative aims “to foster community, build visibility, and create opportunities for engagement that lead to positive outcomes,” the Office of the president and vice-president said in an announcement on Tuesday. The same announcement compared this strategy to the Blue Light Emergency Telephones at UR that have become ubiquitous on campuses across the country.
While only some department vehicles have cruise lights at this time, in the future they will be fitted on the rest of the fleet.
