Krista Hunt

If a student is locked out of their car, there is no need to panic. The Campus Patrol and University of Akron Police Department (UAPD) partner up and provide a free lockout and battery jump service to the University of Akron community, including students, faculty and staff.

Capt. Dale Gooding of The University of Akron Police Department remembers one story from years ago.

“I was working very diligently to help someone who had locked their keys in their car,” he said. “I spent several minutes trying to unlock the vehicle, I took a break and as I was standing there I looked at their rear passenger door and realized that it was unlocked. So I always check all the doors first.”

This service has been available to students for many years, but many students are still unaware of it. Gooding, who has been with UAPD for 13 years, said that this program can be traced back to the early 1980s. The services are used very often and keep the unit busy.

“I too am often surprised about how many people do not know about it,” says Gooding. “As a police department, we talk about the services offered by Campus Patrol at orientations, safety talks and other events. Word of mouth seems to be the main way that this service is brought to the attention of those in need.”

If students need assistance due to a lockout, they need to make sure they know the lot name and their location in the lot, their license plate number, and the make and color of their car before calling. If they are not with their car at the time, they will need to provide their exact location as well.

For battery jumps, open your hood to help the patrol locate your vehicle. Lockouts will only be performed for those people presenting proper identification, which corresponds with the vehicle registration.

“I’ve called them three times in the same school year,” said Thomas McFarland, a junior political science student. “I locked my keys in my car once and needed a jump the other two times.”

Thomas explained how happy he was that he listened during his orientation, because that was the only time he had ever heard anything about the program. He was glad he never had to call a towing company and pay a costly fee to get his car started.

For more information concerning this program, visit The University of Akron Police Department Office located at 146 Hill Street. If you need assistance, they can be contacted at (330) 972-2911 or via email at [email protected].

For a list of other Campus Patrol and police services or programs visit uakron.edu/safety/police/services.