Level of Seriousness Found in UTPD

With their notepads and pens in hand, the University of Tennessee Police Department appear relentless to keeping parking violators accountable for their actions. But sometimes that is just that—an appearance. At approximately 10:25 a.m, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007, a UTPD official was spotted in Circle Park. Prepared for the cold weather, the UTPD official was seen wearing black gloves, rosy cheeks and a slightly over-sized black jacket over his official uniform. He seemed to be checking cars, however, his search for violators did not amount to much. Immediately after exiting the University of Tennessee’s Communications Building, he directly headed to the parking lot, where vehicles are permitted to park for 45 minutes at a time. After observing two vehicles, a tan Camry with a UT-Faculty parking pass and a black Volkswagen without any type of UT parking pass, the official turned away as if completed with his task.

The UTPD provides fundamental police services to the University. They perform a variety of tasks, including traffic enforcement, security for sporting events, and investigation into unlawful activities. With their main goal to provide and improve safety on campus to staff, students and visitors, they are generally seen all over campus. But when considering the situation explained in the previous paragraph, the question of how much time UTPD officials are putting into their jobs in raised.