by Marah Russell, Damien Pearson, Laura Lyons, Leah Soucy, and Christie Oneill

Editor’s Note: This article was posted in Dec. 2024 and mistakenly taken down due to an archival error.

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine –Sitting in Pullen Hall on a warm fall afternoon, Joey Seeley, the director of campus safety and security at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, considered data showing that UMPI was virtually a crime-free campus over the past several years.

Seeley, an alumni of the rural Aroostook County college, acknowledged that some may disagree with reports that any university was this safe and secure. But he was confident in the information that was released in The 2023 Annual Security & Campus Report and the Fire Safety Report.

The report was published by UMPI in the early fall. An outline of campus safety processes, policies, and crime figures for 2021, 2022, and 2023 were presented in the study. The document provided an overview of the UMPI Department of Safety and Security’s approach to crime prevention.

The report fulfilled the requirements of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Seeley emphasized that the institution continuously assesses its campus safety initiatives. Innovative policies, procedures, and programs are assessed and taken into account. Students, faculty, and technology all play a part in the endeavor. He emphasized that collaborating with the university Safety and Security Office, procuring university identity cards, and applying parking stickers are all crucial. 

Crime Statistics

According to the Clery Report, major crimes reported to campus security declined significantly on the campus in 2023. There was one reported rape on the campus in 2023, down from seven rapes in 2021. There was one reported incident of fondling in 2023, down from six reported incidents in 2021. There were two robberies on the UMPI campus in 2021, but zero were reported in 2023. There were zero reported aggravated assaults on the UMPI campus in 2023. That figure is down from one reported incident in 2021 and seven reported aggravated assaults in 2022. In 2021, there were six burglaries reported to campus security, according to the Clery Report. That number fell to four in 2022, and dropped to zero reported burglaries in 2023. 

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 on campus in 2020, there were no reports of criminal behavior at UMPI in the Clery Report. 

The report also highlighted offenses under the Violence Against Women Act that occurred on campus and in student housing. These fell into a separate category.  

There were fewer breaches of the Violence Against Women Act that allegedly occurred on campus. The law, established in 1994, establishes and promotes proactive programs to assist victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse, dating violence, and stalking. 

In 2021, there were four stalking incidents; however, in 2022 and 2023, there were none. Domestic violence was reported once in 2021, but not anytime in 2022 or 2023. Two reports of dating violence were made in 2021 and 2022, while none were made in 2023. 

Students used alcohol–illegally–at UMPI in 2023. This resulted in 21 disciplinary actions for liquor law violations on campus in 2023. This increased from 14 in 2021 and 3 in 2022.

Seeley, who spent twenty-five years with the Presque Isle Police Department and another five with the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, looks at every statistic and sees room for improvements. 

“We can always do better,” he said. “And I am always approachable and I always like to hear both sides of the story. That is also what I tell security here. Always hear both parties out.”

Access to campus and facilities

The UMPI campus is not just for student-use and academic exploration. During regular business hours, Monday through Friday, UMPI’s buildings and facilities are open to students, guests, and visitors. 

According to the Clery Report, an electronic card access control system allows students 24-hour entrance to the primary residential buildings. Students must present their student identification to gain access. Exterior doors are locked at all times in residential buildings. Students can access other residential buildings with their student identification during designated time periods.

The Clery Report also noted that Folsom and Pullen Hall classrooms are secured around the clock by an electronic card access system. In Weiden Hall, only the Athletic Training Room can be entered with a card.

The outer doors of Folsom and Pullen Hall are left unlocked to allow students entrance and egress into the building. All classroom and laboratory doors in Folsom-Pullen Hall remain locked unless authorized personnel open them with a key card. According to the Clery Report, instructors “are advised” to close doors during classes to ensure security. It is not a requirement.

Security Changes

Both students and security personnel weighed in on campus safety, with multiple viewpoints.

Ethan Whitty, an UMPI student, said that the college “does a good job for the most part [with security,] but they could always improve.”

“I definitely feel safe when I’m walking with someone,” he said. “I personally feel we don’t have the safety measures on campus to walk alone at night.” 

Whitty felt that some security personnel were simply “working just for the work study salary,” and not serious about campus safety. He also said that not everyone was aware there security personnel existed on campus, and said the office needed to better advertisement.

Marissa Havey, a physical therapist assistant student, disagreed. She felt the campus was safe. She acknowledged, however, that campus security was in a transition period since the 2023 retirement of Fred Thomas as director of campus safety and security and the hiring of Seeley. Havey was a security officer under Fred Thomas.

“The program has changed under Joey Seeley,” she noted. “I worked under Fred Thomas, and if a building on campus was unlocked, security officers would go into the building to make sure it was cleared out. Under Joey Seeley, security calls UMPI facilities if a building is unlocked. They do not go into the building.”

She also agreed that training was lax for students under the work study program.

“I found that there was never much training involved in the security program,” she explained. “It is just a work study program, so I think that explains it.”

Havey countered that the closeness of the campus community, including the significant number of professors and campus personnel, made her feel safer. 

There are six security officers on staff right now. This job falls under federal work study.

William Williams is a student and a second-year member of the security team at UMPI.  He acknowledged that the job description has changed over-time. 

Last year, he said, security officers were primarily responsible for checking on facilities and campus buildings. 

In some ways, it is a difficult job, said Ricky Garcia, who also is part of the staff. 

“Some people find [the security staff] intimidating,” he said. “I don’t know why, but some people just tense up around us.”

Garcia said that he underwent online training, and also trained onsite with Williams. 

“We also had a meeting where we went through different things we would encounter on the job, like writing tickets and incident reports,” he explained. 

Williams added that members were encouraged to undertake optional training, including Narcan training to help students who have overdosed on drugs.

Security personnel are mandated reporters, which Garcia said may put a wall between themselves and their fellow students. All of the student security officers interviewed for this article said that they had been trained on how to respond to reports of sexual assault or rape.

“People look at us like we are RA’s, and we are not,” he stressed. “We are not here to do room checks and things like that.”

Williams felt that security should be more involved on campus in order to integrate more with the student body.

“I think it would help students realize that we are there for them, and that we are there to help them,” he said.

 Landon Boutwell, a criminal justice major, also works for campus security. 

He said that he “never had an experience where he’d felt unsafe on campus.”

He added that campus security had initiated programs to patrol more parking lots and walk around more dorms and buildings to ensure that they are locked. Boutwell said he had “received adequate training to perform his job as a security officer.”

At the same time, he also felt campus security should be more involved on campus.

“We’ve implemented these new strategies, such as adding the new patrols,” he explained. “But I also think we should take a more preventative approach. That way, if something happens, we’re there to end it.”

Seeley reiterated that UMPI is a safe place, especially when you look at the bigger picture.

“This college is a safe place,” Seeley stressed. “Especially when you compare UMPI to the bigger universities in the state and in the nation. But just like it says…expect the unexpected.”