Program to create relationships between cops, fraternities

By Taylor Moak

Some UK fraternities will “adopt a cop,” once a new program is enacted later this semester.

Chris Hartlage, Interfraternity Council executive vice president, said the program will allow fraternity members to see the actual role of the UK Police Department.

The program will be like the Adopt-A-Cop program found in UK residence halls, where a UKPD officer visits and gets to know the students.

In the fraternity program, an officer will be assigned to each of the 19 IFC fraternities and will come to fraternity chapter meetings and houses, Hartlage said. Members will also be able to do ride-alongs with the cops.

He said the program will fight misconceptions some chapters may have with the police department and help fraternities make connections with the surrounding community.

Capt. Kevin Franklin of UKPD said the program will enable “officers to become more than just a uniform somewhere.”

He said it will allow fraternity members to match a face with a name of officers, and it will allow officers to do the same with fraternity members.

Franklin said that he had not spoken with fraternity members specifically about misconceptions, but he imagined some members feel that officers main goal is to keep fraternities from having any fun.

He said this program will help debunk those myths and allow fraternities to have more input to UKPD.

IFC approached UKPD about the program, Franklin said, and no fraternity will be forced to participate.

Franklin said the program costs nothing but officers’ time.

“They asked and we came,” Franklin said.