{"126091":{"#nid":"126091","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hidden in Plain Clothes: New Police Unit Patrols Campus","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDuring the past three months, as life on campus has continued at its usual hectic pace, it\u2019s likely that, no matter how observant you may be, you haven\u2019t noticed one particular group of folks on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd that\u2019s just how the Georgia Tech Police Department would like it, as its new plain-clothes officer unit is not one that\u2019s meant to be seen. But for the past three months, seven days a week, teams of five have operated in plain clothes to try and head off crime at the pass, particularly the most common types of incidents on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve made several arrests and made contact with people who have been wanted outside Georgia Tech that were committing crimes here,\u201d said Sergeant Ian Mayberry, who oversees the plain-clothes unit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne arrest in the Clough Commons was a criminal who had several warrants out for his arrest in Fulton County, and who was suspected in other thefts on campus from camera footage. A second arrest in the College of Management involved a planted dummy laptop. Officers left the laptop in an area of the building where theft had been an issue, and within 30 minutes a regular campus offender took the bait.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a great tool for us,\u201d Mayberry said \u2014 although, in a few instances, good citizens have either called in the \u201cabandoned\u201d laptop to police or intervened themselves when it appeared someone was considering taking it as his own. As much as possible, plain-clothes officers call for uniformed patrol to make arrests, but do take the opportunity to initiate a conversation when they see behavior that leaves one vulnerable to crime.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf [officers] find valuables unattended, they take up a position somewhere they can watch and see what\u2019s happening, then discretely go over [to the owner] and identify themselves as an officer, let them know they\u2019ve seen thefts in the area, that it\u2019s something to be aware of, and give basic prevention information,\u201d Mayberry said. \u201cIt\u2019s generally very well-accepted.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlain-clothes teams deploy based on crime trends present on campus. Officers undergo additional training with the Atlanta Police Department\u2019s undercover detail before being assigned to plain-clothes duty.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have a lot of different tactics we\u2019re able to use that you just can\u2019t employ when in uniform or a patrol car,\u201d Mayberry said.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the past three months, seven days a week, teams of five officers have operated in plain clothes on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For the past three months, seven days a week, teams of five officers have operated in plain clothes on campus."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2012-04-25 11:42:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:04","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"126301":{"id":"126301","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Police Patch","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894749","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:49","alt":"Georgia Tech Police Patch","file":{"fid":"194518","name":"gtpdpatch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":11699,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gtpdpatch_1.jpg?itok=CYF2NVgc"}}},"media_ids":["126301"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/police.gatech.edu\/","title":"GTPD"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2408","name":"campus safety"},{"id":"3390","name":"Georgia Tech Police Department"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.shaw@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Shaw\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications and Marketing\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}