“The University of Akron’s newest lunch date is free pizza with the police. The lunch is an effort to help inform and educate students about the various issues the university started this semester. SGT. Chad Cunningham of the UA Police Dept. is the officer who attended the discussions.”
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The University of Akron’s newest lunch date is free pizza with the police.

The lunch is an effort to help inform and educate students about the various issues the university started this semester.

SGT. Chad Cunningham of the UA Police Dept. is the officer who attended the discussions.

We always look for any way we can to promote education and safety for our community, Cunningham said.

My part’s easy, I get to come and do what I do, he said. I talk.

According to Cunningham this is the fourth installment of Pizza with the Police, and there are still three more to go.

The response has been very, very good, he said. They have had up to 40 students attend the luncheon.

Cunningham spent a majority of the time talking about protecting oneself and clearing up some rumors about the department.

We are law enforcement officers – we’re not security guards, he said.

Major Newt Engle, along with Cunningham, advised students to call police if they see something that might seem out of place.

The UAPD dispatch number is not 7123 and not 911, as the traditional 911 will connect you to the City of Akron Police Department.

Cunningham also advised students on ways to be safe on campus.

Be alert and aware of your surrounding at all times, he said. Always have a plan in your head.

Cunningham suggested students know where the nearest emergency phone is or where there might be someone that can call for help.

The number one crime on campus, Cunningham said, is theft. To avoid it, he simply said, take responsibility for your items.

Ninety percent of reports we take we could have filled out before we even get there, Cunningham said.

According to Cunningham, the department will also be adding seven new officers this year. This will boost UAPD to a total of 40 officers.

Engle said that at any given time during the day there are only three to six officers working.

Dr Charles Fey, vice president of student affairs, started pizza with the police.

Fey said he started the program because he believes it is a great educational opportunity.

It was a program I have run at other institutions and I thought it would be helpful here, Fey said.

Fey also commended the police on their work at the university and how Pizza with the Police will help.

I think our police are doing a remarkable job and this just helps them do it better, Fey said of the police.

His expectations are that the program here at Akron will continue.

I’m hoping we can run it every month during the school year, and take it around to different locations, Fey said.

Students don’t have to always go to the police – we’ll come to them.

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” #1.1361265:3551206090.jpg:page 4 cunningham_CB.jpg:SGT. Chad Cunningham speaks to students on Friday in the Student Union at Pizza with the Police.:Christopher Bair”