Arizona State University Police Department has started assigning specific officers to separate ASU neighborhoods rather than Tempe campus’ residential halls as a whole.

The program, pushed forward by Commander Jim Hardina, went into effect this semester. The neighborhood assignments are an enhancement to the Community Policing philosophy that the department has utilized for several years, Assistant Chief Jay Spradling said in an e-mail.

ASU Police hopes to foster a more personal and focused approach to law enforcement throughout the university’s residence halls.

“The better connected any police department is with their community, the better flow of information both ways,” said Spradling.

By assigning officers to specific neighborhoods, the program allows them to learn the nuances of their assigned residential halls, Spradling said.

“It provides students with a name and a face who they can approach with questions and issues they may have concerning safety,” he said.

Kelley Conley, a residential hall staff member, is aware of the program but doesn’t know the officer assigned to her area yet. Although Conley only sees officers on foot during events at Gammage Auditorium, she recognizes the value of the more localized approach.

“If someone’s closer it makes it better,” she said.

Normally, one officer is assigned to each neighborhood at a given time. ASU Police disperses the officers and sergeants to cover as many hours as possible across the seven day work week.

The Tempe campus residential halls are separated into three neighborhoods. North Neighborhood, which houses about 4,000 residents, includes San Pablo, University Towers, Palo Verde East, Palo Verde West, Palo Verde Main, Alpha Drive and Manzanita Hall. Center Neighborhood, home to about 1,650 residents, is comprised of McClintock, Irish, Hayden and Best Halls. The largest neighborhood with about 4,800 residents is South Neighborhood, which consists of Hassayampa Academic Village, Vista del Sol, Sonora and Ocotillo Halls and Adelphi Commons.

Because issues at the residential halls predominately occur during evenings and weekends, three night-shift sergeants are in charge of each individual neighborhood. Sgt. Mark Aston, Sgt. Phil Osborne and Sgt. Pam Osborne are responsible for South, North and Center Neighborhood, respectively.

Reach the reporter at cogino@asu.edu.