The police departments in this area need some help. It has come to my attention that the two departments that patrol Purdue and the surrounding city have one thing on their mind, and that is keeping students from illegally parking. Now, I fully understand that if a car is parked illegally, like in a fire zone, this is a problem. On this campus the police spend a lot of time finding cars without permits, or that have expired time on the parking meters. We all know that a minute after a parking meter is up you can expect there to be a police officer, or that parking guy in the little golf cart giving you a ticket. The funny thing is, the parking meters are all stealing money from us too, and I can’t remember the last time 30 minutes actually meant 26! Do you think the police would consider getting this fixed? No, that is a $15 ticket plus the extra money the meter generates for those minutes you lose. (In a 13 hour day that is about $1 per meter, or about $80 per semester per meter.) Now don’t get me wrong, enforcing laws is important. But when it comes between writing a parking ticket and patrolling a garage where a car alarm is going off, the choice should be obvious. Also, when patrolling an area, safety should always be an issue. On a few occasions I have seen officers race after speeding suspects in front of the recreational center’s entrance, a 20 mph zone. Is hitting a student with a patrol car worth the ticket? The police in this area do a good job overall in keeping violent crimes low, which I commend them for greatly, but they need to be less concerned about illegal parking and expired meters.

David Mazza, Jr.
Junior, School of Science