It is a common trend among students to have late study nights at the library, or a club meeting that runs just late enough that the sun has set. Walking back to dorms or cars is a scary feat, as anxieties loom about what may lurk in the darkness.

Luckily for night owls, UNA offers a program to help escort students across campus. The Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol has been a part of UNA’s police department for roughly a decade now. 

Les Jackson has served as the Chief of UNAPD for three years now, and notes that this semester has been the most utilized that he can remember.
“Dispatch has an Excel spreadsheet, and I went to look and it’s probably the largest number I’ve seen in a while,” he said. “[We have had] approximately 480 escorts so far this fall semester.”

The funding comes from the UNA Police Department, which causes a SNAP to run on a need-by-need basis. It works differently than the Bluelight System, which brings police presence to aid those at night. Bluelight can be activated at one of the blue phone stations on campus, and summons Florence Police officers. Pressing “five” on one of the telephones brings SNAP members. 

For those who do need police presence to escort them home, the department is more than happy to help in any way they can.

“I worked the night shift for a lot of years,” Jackson said. “I didn’t mind helping at all. You have students who work at restaurants and such after SNAP hours. Sometimes it’s just to provide an escort from the parking deck to the residence halls or something like that.”

The patrol usually has about ten SNAP members and two dispatchers. Members can assist on foot or on the UNAPD golf cart, depending on availability and distance. 

Jackson heavily encourages students to use the police department to help them in any way they need. He has even told his own children of its importance.

“That’s what we’re here for: safety and security,” he said.