The San Diego State Police Department opened a new office in Love Library during the summer to expand its presence on campus.

The new site is intended to create a presence in a more central part of campus, Interim Chief of Police Lamine Secka said. The SDSU library staff and police department worked together to make the office possible. Increasing reports of thefts and homeless individuals lingering in the library have caused students and faculty to feel uncomfortable, further prompting the need for the office, Secka said.

All students, faculty and staff are invited to come into the office in Love Library 204 every Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. to meet Secka. The office will be open intermittently, and will serve as an extension of the main department, which is located on the northwest edge of campus, Secka said.

“It gives me an opportunity to get out and meet the students, faculty and staff that I don’t usually get to see … It gives us to chance to chat … on a much more informal basis,” Secka said.

Community service officers were originally meant to monitor the office. However, the SDSUPD is seeing a shortage of these employees, causing the site to not be open as often.

In 2011, the Associated Students Library Committee determined that security and safety were a top priority. Many students “requested a more visible police presence in the library,” Dean of Library and Information Access Gale Etschmaier said.

“We worked closely with university police on a number of strategies to improve security in the library, including the creation of the storefront,” Etschmaier said.

While on-campus safety is a principal priority, Sgt. Steven Harshaw said off-campus safety is important as well. The SDSUPD also receives and responds to calls that involve activity off campus.

A lot of this activity does involve alcohol and drug use, he said. Students may not think about calling the escort service when their friend has had too much to drink, or when they simply want to leave a party and don’t feel safe enough to walk home.

“I would encourage people to call us, we aren’t looking to make arrests, but (when alcohol is involved) it becomes a touchy thing,” Harshaw said. “Call the escort program; we want to get you to a place of safety.”

Photo by Jordan Owen, senior staff photographer