by Jennifer Eaton
Daily Lobo
UNM's main campus covers several square miles and contains more than a hundred buildings.
Protecting and securing those buildings, as well as their contents, is one of the many responsibilities of UNM Campus Security which includes nine officers covering three eight-hour shifts each day.
"We have a pattern every night that we can't miss, otherwise rooms or offices could be broken into," said Rosemary Melendrez, security supervisor.
Melendrez is now training a new crop of security officers to secure buildings and serve the campus as campus escorts and guards who can help in a variety of situations.
Training for new guards includes instruction on managing the dozens of keys guards will have as well as a class in basic automotives maintenance so they can help stranded campus motorists.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Training takes about two weeks and requires mostly note-taking. On the third week, the new officers begin working on their assignments alone.
"While each shift is busy, the most important is the night shift," Melendrez said. "This is where we make sure to get every person home safely during a very unsafe time of the night."
