Steve Oldt, a Shippensburg Township supervisor, hosted a forum on Friday at the Shippensburg Township office to discuss the effectiveness of the weekend security guards deployed on Richard Avenue.
Vigilante Security was hired by Shippensburg Township and has worked with the Pennsylvania State Police since April in an attempt to curb the mayhem of Shippensburg’s most ubiquitous party spot.
Despite allocating more than $10,000 in taxpayer money on private security, coupled with seemingly unanimous support of the arrangement from residents, Oldt fears the township may have to go to greater lengths to maintain order.
“I was sure this was going to help us, now I am not so sure it is,” Oldt said. “The No. 1 priorities for the township are safety, health and welfare. Those three can’t exist with all the fights, drugs and guns.”
Officials are prepared to make nuclear changes to keep students and township members safe, said Lt. Gary Carter of the Pennsylvania State Police.
“We are ramping up to a zero-tolerance policy,” Carter said. “Arrests are going to start happening more and more.”
However, the types of crimes state police are looking for transcend the status quo of college party debauchery.
“Our guys are coming out here looking for people that are causing real problems. We’re not out here every night to stop the parties. We’re here to stop the rapes, the fights, the stabbings,” Carter said.
While Oldt expressed pessimistic concerns about the program, retired Shippensburg University police officer and current Vigilante Security employee Jerome Kater believes his presence is vital to the sanctity of the township. Kater said the situation has improved.
“Things are worse when we’re not there,” Kater said. “Us being there is having a definite impact on the safety of the students and residents.
“That’s our top priority. Especially because the students aren’t the ones hurting people.”
Oldt and Carter share Kater’s conviction. From what they have witnessed, SU students are not the source of these problems.
“What we realized is that over half the people causing these problems are not students from Shippensburg,” Oldt said. He, Carter and Kater want to make it clear that out-of-town party vagabonds are not welcome in Shippensburg.
Residents of Richard Avenue attended the meeting on Friday to voice their support of the program.
Rachel Hefele, a senior at SU and a Richard Avenue resident, says she feels safer with the security guards.
“People that don’t attend Shippensburg [University] are walking around intoxicated and they’re looking to cause problems with students for no reason. That’s not right and it feels good to know that people are here to look out for us.”
Vigilante Security will continue to survey Richard Avenue during “at-risk” nights, such as during homecoming and after home football games.
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