Cait Zona and Jarell Jones, candidates running for this year’s SGA President and Vice President, hosted their campaign rally Sunday night at Burger U on campus next to the CFE Arena.
Zona not only released her and Jones’ platform but also touched on supporting to give UCFPD more jurisdiction to patrol areas such as the “Greek Ghetto”.
“I definitely think the UCF police should be patrolling all UCF students. That does reach further than just the Greek Ghetto, however we need to make sure that we’re listening to the homeowners and students back there,” Zona said.
Just days ago, there was a report of a gun shot in the Greek Ghetto where UCF police later showed up on the scene. Reports of a gun shot came just two nights after a 20-year old woman said she was nearly raped just down the street. The area is home to many UCF fraternity houses and students.
Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs sat down with Local 6 news and said that she would personally lead a unification meeting amongst all agencies to develop a plan that would give UCFPD more jurisdiction.
“If that’s something that he (UCF Police Chief Richard Beary) feels he could be more effective at I would absolutely support that,” Mayor Jacobs told Local 6.
Following the report of a gun shot in the Greek Ghetto, Orange County Sheriff’s Office sent out a tweeting claiming no “credible” report of a gun shot, despite the multiple eye witnesses. OCSO later admitted that the tweet was incorrect.
With all of the recent crime in the UCF area, especially surrounding local bars and in the Greek Ghetto, Knight News will monitor to see if UCFPD is allowed more jurisdiction in the near future.
Check back with us as we keep you updated on all SGA campaigns and to whether UCFPD is given more jurisdiction to patrol off campus areas such as local bars and the Greek Ghetto.
