GPD11 said:
Oh Sir I feel your pain :BM: .
^^^^^ Sir???
Anyway, I've always just taken the additional duties as par for the course in a campus setting. You definitely need to have many hats, it's never going to change. You have to try and make it positive and do the best you can - personally, I don't think I'd mind some of that stuff, it keeps things different and interesting. Also, you need to deal with things in the manner that seems fit to you and your abilities. In the raccoon incident, for instance, perhaps tell the girl, "I'm not trained in this sort of thing and I'll do the best I can, but that means killing it." You are there to keep them safe, not to ease there guilty conscience.
I was lucky to be involved with a pro-active department and while there was still the occasional bitching on the part of PO's, I think it was a "grass is always greener" case most of the time. Though it always appeared pretty good from where I was standing. You could be very active during a shift or relax and coast through and it never seemed to be a problem (it was annoying when a few people decided to coast ALL the time and never wanted to get off there ass for little, but necessary calls). On the proactive side, I remember the chief once telling a PO something along the lines of, "Stop locking up all the students! Non-students breaking laws or trespassers, you can take all day long, but enough with the students!" When it came down to it though, I think this was more a way to keep things in control and prevent problems because if students broke the law, they got arrested and I never heard of any real issues regarding arise from it.
Campus judiciary is also an interesting subject. It's a crap shoot, but I've heard of schools where an offender got it WAY tougher through campus judiciary than any punishments through the legal system. Of course this is for the smaller, more prevalent campus type violations, such as alcohol stuff. I've heard of places where, given the choice, a student would much rather go to court and PO's would much rather divert to the campus judiciary. Minor V's would receive a slap on the wrist in court, but on campus would lead to serious consequences - probations and expulsions, rescinded scholarships and financial aid, and black marks on transcripts, which made most grad schools out of the question. Sometimes, I think you have to use your resources and determine "where are they going to get the punishment that is fitting of the crime?" It might be on campus, it might be in the legal system, or both!
Just my thoughts,
Eric