ARRESTS TRIPLE AT COLLEGE NEW AVC FORCE EMBRACES 'PROACTIVE' POLICING STRATEGY.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Arrests have nearly tripled this year at Antelope Valley College while reports of crimes have held steady under a new aggressive approach by the college security force, newly reconstituted with certified peace officers instead of unarmed security guards.

Chief Tom Bryant of the AVC Police Department said ``proactive'' policing, instead of reactive measures, is a central factor in the increase in arrests and the slight decrease in the number of criminal reports filed in the first three quarters of this year, compared with the same period last year.

``Probably 90 (percent) to 95 percent of the arrests are nonstudents here at the college,'' said Bryant, who has served the college for 12 years in law enforcement. ``The increase in arrests and the slight decrease in the crime rate show the intelligence and the level of training of our officers.''

In the first nine months of this year, AVC officers made 65 arrests, compared with 25 during the same period last year. Calls for service have gone from 6,299 in the first three quarters of 2003 to 12,310 in the same period this year. But total criminal incident reports have gone from 263 in 2003 to 262 in 2004.

Prior to the college installing an actual police department on campus, unarmed security guards would have to call the Sheriff's Department for virtually everything, including making arrests and following suspects off campus.

Now, because every member of the AVC Police Department who works in the field is a fully certified peace officer, the department has become a self-contained unit that can assist the Sheriff's Department on campus as well as on city streets and highways.

``This is a regular law enforcement agency just like any other,'' Bryant said. ``We are bound by law to act when we see a violation. Our department is just like any other law enforcement agency here to serve the community.''

In the early 1980s, security for the campus was a night janitor who kept an eye on things while performing his duties. It evolved into a handful of unarmed security guards before the installation of actual peace officers about two years ago.

The department now boasts training in line with that of the Sheriff's Department and LAPD, including typical peace officer duties, terrorist threat training and medical certifications.

With the donation of nearly $200,000 worth of equipment by the Sheriff's Department, including the Live Scan system to fingerprint and photograph arrestees or potential employees for background checks;computer systems linked to the Department of Justice and the FBI; and radios that link them to all other law enforcement agencies in Southern California, the department has technology surpassing some smaller cities' police departments'.

The department has its own booking area, a dispatcher who can direct units around campus or anywhere in the Antelope Valley as well as guiding sheriff's units to a scene, and its own 911 line. The dispatcher can instantly link up with Justice Department and FBI computers to check on outstanding warrants, driver's license information, terrorist ties and virtually any other background information on a subject stopped by AVC officers.

But arrests and citations are not the only functions of the department and are less important than some other duties the department has taken on, officials said.

``People need to know that when you see a police car, you can expect help,'' Bryant said. ``Don't think, Oh, no, they're going to give me a ticket. We're here to serve the community.''

Officers also provide an escort service to and from vehicles and classes, offer students a place in the station to call or wait for rides instead of sitting outside at night, and provide minor vehicle assistance including jump-starting cars and unlocking vehicles if owners lock their keys inside.

The officers' presence also is credited with helping to reduce traffic collisions at the intersection of 30th Street West and Avenue K, considered one of the most dangerous intersections in the Antelope Valley, and the surrounding area.

``One lady was about to make an illegal turn and when she spotted our car, she turned around quick,'' Bryant said. ``The presence is very important. I don't like issuing citations but I'd rather upset someone by giving them a citation than seeing their car crumpled up in the road.''

In fact, officers typically issue as many warnings as they do citations if the violation is minor.

``What it boils down to is that we are here to ensure the safety of every student here,'' Bryant said. ``But we are regular law enforcement officers and have to act when we see a violation, whether it's just off campus or on the other side of town.''

The department is currently staffed with both full-time and reserve officers, but reserve officers make up the majority of the force. The reserve team also brings a wide range of experience, including a retired Air Force veteran, an EMT and trauma unit worker, a former soldier who just returned from Iraq before starting with the department and several retired and active peace officers who volunteer.

``We can handle just about anything that gets thrown at us,'' Bryant said. ``Any type of major emergency, earthquake, fire, flood, whatever. We also handle our own medical emergencies until EMS (Emergency Medical Services) arrive. We can sustain life right here on campus.''

Greg Botonis, [phone]

gregory.botonis(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Sgt. John Carey of the campus police does rounds at Antelope Valley College in a patrol car last week.

(2 -- color) Sgt. John Carey, left, and Officer Hau Nguyen check out a parking lot on the valley college's campus, where police are opting for a more aggressive approach to crime.

(3) Chief Tom Bryant of the Antelope Valley College Police Department speaks to officers on a radio from his office. ``Probably 90 (percent) to 95 percent of the arrests are nonstudents here at the college,'' he said.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer