Datebook
Sgt. Caroline Bennett, a Hopkins Security officer for nine
years, worked her way up from a rookie with a criminal
justice degree to assistant day shift commander. Known
around campus as "Sarge" or "Carrie," on e-mail as "hopcop,"
and on radio as "Unit 1," she's part police officer, part
campus guide.
6:30 a.m. Squad room roll call with Lt. Mark Carter,
shift commander. The day shift shares "firehouse coffee" as
Carter reads the weekend incident report. Top news: an armed
robbery of students off-campus, damaged vehicles in the
Homewood Garage, shoplifting involving an intoxicated
student.
6:56 a.m. Grabbing a multichannel radio, Bennett
heads out to check her Chevy Tracker: Dents or dings? No.
Searchlights and overheads OK? Yes. Equipment
(defibrillator, oxygen tank, first aid kit, fire
extinguisher, jumper cables) accounted for? Yes.
7:15 a.m. After unlocking buildings, it's "glass
check" for broken windows in parking lots, mail run, patrol
of reserved lots to make sure construction crews aren't
parking there. She gives directions to two vans and three
visitors, and, with a trademark wave -- friendly yet
authoritative -- allows pedestrians right-of-way.
8:38 a.m. Stops by Hodson Hall construction site.
"Can't park here!" the workers joke when they see Bennett.
The foreman says he'll bring on extra security at the site
after recent vandalism. "Let us know who it will be so we
don't arrest 'em," Bennett says.
8:46 a.m. Building checks, including Garland Hall,
where every office has a bowl of candy. Bennett takes a
peppermint.
9:57 a.m. High-visibility patrol off campus to
Oakenshawe, where a block with students in residence has
been hit hard by a burglar. Bennett spies a bedraggled man
with a cart. "Hello sir," she says. "What's going on?" It
becomes apparent he's the neighborhood "can man" and an
unlikely suspect, so Bennett asks him to be on the lookout.
"What's your name?" "Paul," he replies. "Carrie," she says,
sticking her hand out for a shake.
10:18 a.m. Respond to Fire Trouble Alert in McCoy
Hall; lots of noise, no smoke. "Probably a steamy shower,"
she says.
11:15 a.m. At Occupational Health, Bennett's arrival
draws out all three occupants. They want to know how she's
feeling after "wrassling" with a bicycle thief last week.
(He got away, but left behind his "snips," three
screwdrivers, clothes -- and the bike.)
11:35 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Mac-n-cheese lunch in the squad
room.
12:18 p.m. Report of an employee feeling faint in
Levering. Bennett knows him; he refuses an "ambo" and, after
a consult with volunteers from HERU (the student medic
corps) she transports the man to Union Memorial. "It will be
all right," she tells him.
2:53 p.m. Gas tank filled, 35 miles logged, it's back
to the squad room to turn in keys for the next shift and
finish her daily report.
3 p.m. All in all, a quiet day. Bennett punches out,
shakes her hair loose from its band, and heads to her red
pickup, waving to other officers. "We've got a good crew
here," she says. -- MM
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