A look into the workings of DPD

By: Caitlin Goodman, Transcript Correspondent

Posted: 11/19/09

With integrity, respect, courtesy, honor, excellence, professionalism and trust, the Delaware Police maintain order, enforce laws and protect the life, peace and property of the citizens of Delaware, according to the Delaware Police Department (DPD) Website.

Captain Bruce Pijanowski said if an OWU student or any citizen of Delaware gets into trouble with the law, it is DPD's job to write down as much information as possible, even if the information isn't significant to the incident. He said the focus of the report is on the facts-- what is seen, and what is heard in terms of statements made during the incident.

Pijanowski said when the report is completed, it is handed off to the sergeant who reviews it for accuracy. Then the report is sent off to the records department, which is responsible for tabulating all the information and filling in any missing general information.

Pijanowski said it is no surprise most people complain about reports being either false or exaggerated.

"That is the reason why people go to court-to contest a report," he said. "But that also goes hand-in-hand with the fact that people do not like to be arrested or get into trouble with the police.

"When someone is picked up for public intoxication and they complain after the incident that what was written was false, it begs the question; who is the better judge?"

In a recent Transcript article titled "Review group reports poor PS communication, availability," written by Mark Dubovec, the DPD was said to have made a very detailed report on the recent incident involving Juan Armando Rojas, director of the modern foreign languages department. The article said that some descriptions in the report were selected to place the officers in the best light.

Pijanowski said his officers do not write down information that is made up and do not write down information that would make the DPD look better.

Rojas said that the report included that the police had questioned him at his home in Delaware, but they had simply made a phone call. He said the article made DPD look like the victims.

Professor Rojas is not the only one who feels some police reports are misrepresentative of the situation. Some students have experienced incidents where they claim that the police made certain falsities or exaggerations on their reports.

Senior Phil Serfaty said police told him they had been called to his house one night due to a noise complaint, but the real reason was a false accusation of alcohol violations.

"The police came into our house and told us to come out when they were not even allowed to enter," Serfaty said. "They said that we all drank two beers when I did not make a statement like that and there were no traces of alcohol in our house when they entered."

Serfaty said the police were looking for people to bust, especially the first two weeks of school. He said since the report had said that the people at his house had been drinking they received a harsher reaction from the judge.

Pijanowski said he was concerned about people complaining about false or exaggerated reports and wish he knew more specific details.

"If students or professors are complaining about false information on reports that some of my officers have written, then that is something very important to focus on with the right and specific information," he said.

Some students, who wish to remain anonymous, said they openly admit they have gotten into trouble because they were doing something illegal, and that DPD were not friendly.

One senior said that DPD is out of line when it comes to college students and have no reason to be.

Pijanowski said some instances are simply a matter of disrespect to the community and to the DPD, said Pijanowski, in reference to certain incidents he had witnessed.

"I don't want to pick people up for peeing in public or littering in someone else's yard," he said. "But I do respond adequately on a case to case basis."