When major events involving ASU affiliated students/faculty/staff happen off-campus (especially in the City of Tempe), the media frequently inquires about the university affiliation of individuals involved. When affiliation information of a victim or suspect is known, Tempe PD will release it to the media. This is a relatively common practice which is merely intended to share information, not purposefully cast ASU in a poor light.
Since this past fall, ASU has seen an increase in negative publicity tied to the off-campus actions of its students (with one media outlet dubbing ASU “a hangover school”). In an effort to curtail negative publicity, sources from Tempe PD tell us that ASU has been requesting TPD not release the university affiliation of suspects/victims. TPD already patrols ASU’s campus due to staffing shortages, wrangles its drunk students, and works its special events, but it is not enough! TPD must also bend to the whims of ASU in an attempt to boost the university’s image.
TPD continued to release the affiliation information of its suspects/victims, and showed it has enough common sense to realize the university affiliation of an individual is easy to find out via asu.edu. This obviously made ASU very upset, as they were furiously attempting to salvage their reputation and credibility as an academic institution; every negative mention of ASU in the media translated into a tangible amount of revenue loss to the university.
How did ASU react? According to sources from TPD, ASU is so upset that TPD continues to release information to the media that makes the university look bad, that it is considering legal action against the City of Tempe. We are not too sure what legal leg ASU has to stand on, but this is a horrible move; without TPD’s assistance, ASU and ASUPD will look like the understaffed, mismanaged, and poorly run place we all see on a daily basis.
A word of advice to Michael Crow and company: don’t bite the hand that feeds you!
There seems to be an ethical blackhole here. It started at ASUPD, but seems to go further. Ignore the problems of crime at ASU, ignore the weak mismanaged Arizona State University Police Dept, and make them Tempe’s problems.
If that isn’t bad enough just lie by omission to the public in order to make money and get huge bonuses way outside the realm of any other public official in the state of Arizona. As a result you leave tens of thousands in a state of false security hoping nothing bad happens.
Of course bad things do happen and you scramble to keep that out of the press, conceal any ASU connection, and don’t fix our PD. How is this not corruption? The investigators are the last people to upset if you have something to hide. I’m sure there’s more, we will find out.
Looks like nobody needs to wonder why we haven’t had a regime change at ASUPD for so long. When our bosses bosses are just as corrupt why change? You don’t want to get someone honest running your police department, that could spell problems as this undoubtedly will, give it time.
The head of the “New American” university isn’t a fan of free speech, free press, seeks to abridge these rights. I don’t like where this New America is going, seems a bit unamerican.
Trampling the traditional American civil liberties of yesterday to build the new American university of tomorrow. Maybe he’s riding too high in the seat to see all the fine print on those pesty old civics and government documents that are the foundation of our nation.
Scandals don’t make themselves, people make them. Unfortunately the truth here isn’t a concern, the truth that ASU students are suspects or victims in crimes is all bad news, but ASU wants to hide that, while ignoring the causes and the failed Arizona State University Police Department.
It’s not about the truth, it’s about hiding it, it’s about money and how public perception affects this money. Is it surprising ASU is attempting to shift it’s policing responsibilities and the statistics that come with it to the city of Tempe and it’s police department? Nope.
Instead of addressing leadership issues making his Arizona State University police department inadequate for the task Mr. Crow goes looking for answers elsewhere in Tempe.
Suppressing this news and manipulating the city because you are a more powerful state entity is wrong. Perhaps the city of Tempe should look at how ASU is doing bully business and appeal to the feds if state government can’t police it’s own.
Maybe we will since the management of ASU ignores the failed leadership of the Arizona State University Police Department and the fact the department is a shadow of what it should be in order to protect the students who go here. This will only get bigger, it’s going to go beyond internet talk.
I hope they do take legal action against Tempe PD. And I hope Tempe PD pulls units out of the area. Maybe then, when response times are stupidly high, people will pay attention.
I hate to say it, but it’s gotta get worse before it gets better.
When you look at how shady, petty, vindictive, insecure, self-serving, and void of ethics ASUPD command is are you surprised by the people who approve of them? I’m hopeful people will see the errors of their ways, but I’m not holding my breath, sometimes we all need a little guidance.
Dr. Mike Crow, the reason you see all this on the internet, why it’s not going away, why this will continue to expand and generate more press and attention, it’s because we got tired of getting treated like crap by people we can’t respect in a profession that’s supposed to be filled with respectable people.
Word of advice, don’t let anyone who came through the ranks here hold command in the ASU police department, they don’t have the experiences of leadership, of police work, to make effective, respectable, common sense leaders.
It sounds like Tempe needs to enlist some resources to deal with their Crow problem. The university cares about money, it gets no revenue from a police department, so it doesn’t value it. When AssUPpd…ASUPD gets the university sued, again, and again, they settle out of court in cash. Low crime stats = more money, less police = less crime stats. Lie about Clery = less stats and more money.
Parents, the public, the federal government, everyone should be pissed off about getting deceived. Maybe if our leadership had to deal with the federal government they would be less inclined to bully the local city government?
If it wasn’t for Tempe PD the Tempe ASUPD campus units would be lost at sea on critical issues. The same goes for West campus ASUPD units without Phoenix and Glendale, Downtown ASUPD without Phoenix, Polytech ASUPD without Gilbert and Mesa. Crow needs to realize how much the City of Tempe has done for the University and ASUPD over the years. Maybe he doesn’t know because Pickens and his command buddies are so used to taking credit for what’s not theirs. I don’t know.
I’m glad we have the cooperation of the surrounding agencies at each of our campuses. Having only one officer on every campus but Tempe, which at best has 3 puts us in a constant status of critical. Maybe if we stop driving people away that will change.