Budget cuts won't hit security

The University plans to continue improving security regardless of cuts in the University's overall budget, University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said last week. According to Kuprevich, the administration has repeatedly expressed devotion to maintaining a satisfactory level of security. He added that officials have not indicated that this level will be decreased due to budget cuts. Kuprevich said the budget problems should not seriously damage either contract negotiations with the department's officers or plans for a new police station. "[Senior Vice President] Marna Whittington and the administration have made a commitment to the safety and well-being of the community," Kuprevich said. "I believe they've demonstrated this to the community and that commitment has not changed one iota. Certainly no one wants to see this department become anything but an asset in insuring that this community is safe for everyone." The University's latest proposed budget cuts, announced last month, do not include campus security among the departments scheduled for reduced allocations. Both President Sheldon Hackney and Whittington have stated in recent months that the level of security on the campus is a "non-negotiable" issue. One of the issues that police supervisors will face in the near future is the renegotiation of the police officers' contracts, which come up for renewal this summer. When the contract last expired in 1988, the officers went on strike for over a month before reaching a settlement with the University. Kuprevich said he hoped this year's negotiations will go smoothly and added that, above all else, all employees of University Police from the officers on up, have campus security as their uppermost concern. "I am extremely optimistic that we will come to a mutually-agreeable situation that will not impact the level of safety in this community," Kuprevich said. "Everyone in this department is committed to this community and I think that that, for all of us, comes first. He added that despite a University-wide hold on all new construction at the University, the department remains optimistic its proposed new headquarters at 40th and Walnut streets will eventually be built. "There is a moratorium, but we are still continuing the planning on that facility," Kuprevich said. "We still are optimistic that something will happen to turn this whole crisis around."

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