Don't you wish you had a little jeep, too?

Security is all about the cars: big blue vans that carry students around the area, and little white SUVs, boldly labeled "Security," that patrol on- and off-campus.

It's the big escort vans that get the most consistent attention. In April 2003, an average of 354 students a day used the security escort shuttles, with 421 students per day on weekends. The shuttles took students grocery shopping, studying, snacking and partying.

But the smaller SUVs carry as much of the mission, if not more.

Security currently has four patrols running off-campus. Director of Security Ronald Mullen said that he continues to work to combat the perception that areas off campus are not safe. As part of that effort, Mullen said, Hopkins has hired more contract guards to patrol the campus, freeing up Hopkins officers to patrol off-campus areas.

That doesn't mean students should be carefree about their surroundings. On-campus escorts are provided. Off-campus, students should walk in groups or take the escort vans.

The escort service operates two sets of vans: fixed-route vans, which run down Charles and Saint Paul Streets and along University Parkway towards the Rotunda and Superfresh, and an off-route van service, which make pickups anywhere else. Route vans operate on a schedule, which can be found at http://www.jhu.edu/security/rotunda _express.htm.

The difference between your own car and the shuttle service is the wait: Lt. George Kibler, who has supervised the shuttle service for five years, estimates that the average wait for an off-route shuttle is roughly ten minutes. Unfortunately, it can often be double or triple the time during the early months of the semester.

This year, Kibler said he has "built up a little reserve force" to handle extra demand, saying that his fleet of six vans should be able to "meet most of the need." Under normal conditions there will be four vans, with an additional on- and off-route van on backup for periods of heavy load.

But Kibler said that early-semester demand sometimes exceeds that capacity, and asks students to be patient. "When you get that large number coming in, you could increase the vans another one or two times, and it still may not be enough to meet that need out there, when [students] want it," Kibler said.

Also, Kibler said, students should be aware of the shift change that occurs at 10 p.m., often causing extra delays for students heading out around that time. Kibler also said that the rain can exacerbate the whole problem because of the extra demand.

In the end, Kibler says that if you need to be somewhere on time, "call us earlier than normal." And above all, Mullen says that students should not hesitate to call Security if they feel they are in danger on the street, imploring students to, "rely on us, call us."

Students who find themselves stranded off-campus can call Security for help. In addition to their myriad shuttle services, the department has an emergency cab program to help students stranded far from Homewood. "Our interest is mainly to get them back and the cab service is an excellent resource for that," says Kibler.

Students who find themselves arrested should call Security to help get them back to campus quickly after processing at Central Booking.

Security is also responsible for implementing the University's response to any terror alerts. When the level was at orange earlier this year, Security increased patrols and started checking trucks entering campus. Security also closed 34th street between Wolman and McCoy Halls to traffic, as well as the Charles Street service lane in front of the Homewood Apartments, a decision that proved highly controversial within the student community.

Responding to criticism that Security had not communicated well with businesses in the area about its threat response, Mullen said: "If the Federal Government tells us we have a concern that there is a threat against universities per se ... we're not going to get the community together and say "Gee, folks, do you all mind if we do this?'

"We would rather go out later and have to apologize to people and say "Gee, we're sorry we didn't tell you,' as opposed to not doing something."

Security also maintains awareness of local crime by issuing a Daily Crime Log and Daily Incident Reports. For specific crimes, they release Security Information Alerts and Flyers. These notices can all be found on the Security website at http://www.jhu.edu/security.

Students who are victims of a crime, or have concerns about their security or safety, should call Security at extension 6-4600 at any time.