With much of the student body on my side in feeling unsafe and uncomfortable with them around, the University of Wyoming Police Department (UWPD) should be the first to go with the impending $20 million budget cuts.
I must disclaim my arguments against UWPD are related neither to discriminatory policing and the police brutality protests in the summer of 2020. Rather I will be discussing budgetary and ethical standpoints of why UWPD is no longer needed.
Simply put, if President Seidel wants to follow through on his original initiatives of inclusivity, integrity and responsibility, he must support disbanding UWPD before all else.
Perhaps, the best depiction of the gravity of the budget cuts was stated by Seidel himself in an Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) meeting.
“If you were to completely eliminate the entirety of the colleges of law and education, no faculty, no staff, just shut them down to zero, that’s only $10 million.”
And yet the university budget office allocated $1,856,747 to the UW Police Department in FY2020 well knowing that $2 million can make the difference between having a program and not. If the mission of the university is truly about academia, there is no reason this much money should be allocated to the UW Police Department. Even worse, the university disturbingly budgeted even more to UWPD in FY2021 amounting to $2,129,881, despite the budget cuts. That’s a $273,134 increase.
Without mention of their abuse of power, there is simply no need for them as long as the Laramie Police Department (LPD) is functioning. LPD budgeted $8,056,326 in FY2020 accounting for 20.6% of the City of Laramie’s total expenditures. In 2021, they anticipate $8,209,971 in expenditures accounting for 26.6% of the city’s expenditures.
Why are we tacking on another police department when there is already a well-funded police department who covers this jurisdiction?
What conclusively led me to believe UWPD should be disbanded was my own negative encounter that solidified their officers scare rather than protect students. The details of my story are something I choose not to share. Suffice to say, UWPD made my friends and I incredibly uncomfortable and publicly humiliated.
I spoke with law student and ASUW Senator Andrew Holcomb and was disappointed to hear his experience was similar to mine. Holcomb told a story about a night he was hanging out with his fraternity brothers after an initiation ceremony. UWPD showed up to the fraternity that night.
“From the very beginning they were very rude to me,” Holcomb said. “It seemed like an expedition to try to talk me into giving them permission to search the house.”
Holcomb explained he luckily knew his rights and prevented himself from being taken advantage of by law enforcement.
“In light of that the officers thought it was appropriate to tease me about my age being a non-traditional student and being an older student,” Holcomb said.
Some students are not able to defend themselves like Holcomb did, especially without proper knowledge of their rights and how to exercise them.
I would be remiss not to mention the bias I hold from my negative encounter with UWPD, but nevertheless they should be held accountable for the discomfort they create on campus. I have tried to keep the costs in mind of eliminating UWPD in a potentially dangerous scenario. In a case of an active security threat, perish the thought, who would be there to respond? Though, as I previously mentioned, the prevalence of Laramie Police Department and their close proximity to the university sufficiently cover this identified need.
But what is most important to UWPD is making students feel unsafe, the direct opposite of their supposed mission. The most notable example that comes to mind is a suspicion of a scheme with Safe Ride to catch underage drinkers.
While I was a freshman, in 2019, UWPD awaited Safe Ride vehicles to drop off students who were at downtown bars, a service to prevent drunk driving and ensure students get home safely. Students were met with UWPD after their ride home and were then questioned and given field sobriety tests. Resultantly many students were charged but more importantly UWPD encouraged students to drive drunk in subsequent weeks knowing Safe Ride puts them at risk for an alcohol related charge.
This is just one example of UWPD putting students in harm’s way. The testament of Holcomb and the Safe Ride situation, are only scratching the surface of the corrupt actions of UWPD. They make students feel more unsafe. They make students feel uncomfortable. They do not protect us.
More broadly, I harbor doubts that the benefits of having UWPD outweigh the costs especially in a time where academic programs need funding more than ever.
I am calling on President Seidel to make this right. If you care not only about the student body’s safety and comfort, but also the funds that support their education then put the money allocated to UWPD back into an academic program. Use your voice in the interest of the students.
