RUPD officers visit students to gain trust and friendship.

Kenneth Cop, IP&O’s Executive Director of Public Safety Chief of University Police released the following announcement to the university community. The response has been positive:   

The Rutgers University Police Department is proud to announce a new partnership with Lights On!, a MicroGrants program.  

Lights On! is an innovative community-driven program that partners with law enforcement and automotive service providers to replace tickets with repair vouchers. This unique program believes that positive interactions with police can help strengthen trust, solve community problems, and result in safer vehicles on the road. Instead of punishing drivers for broken lights, this initiative aims to turn a dreaded traffic stop into an opportunity to create positive interactions between community members and law enforcement.  

Beginning March 1, 2023, Rutgers University police officers may issue repair vouchers for many common lamp equipment violations during a traffic stop in lieu of a ticket, where appropriate. These vouchers may be redeemed at participating service locations for repair of defective bulbs free of charge, up to $250 inclusive of parts and labor.   

The Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) is one of over 141 law enforcement agencies nationwide that have partnered with Lights On! since the program’s inception in 2017 and represents the first New Jersey police agency to participate in the program.    

More information regarding the Lights On! program may be found on its website, lightsonus.org.  

The Rutgers program was implemented through a university-wide collaboration between Rutgers police and student government organizations. Leaders in this effort include Carmelo V. Huertas Jr., RUPD chief in Newark; Kevin Lutz, RUPD chief in Camden; Allison Smith, president of Rutgers University Student Assembly in New Brunswick; Karla Cunas, president of Rutgers-Newark Student Government Association; Jordan Adhiambo, president of Rutgers-Camden Student Government Association; and the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences chancellor’s office and Office of Academic and Student Affairs. 

Featured in the IP&O Newsletter, May 2023.