Public Safety Hires Students to Write Parking Tickets at UCM

Students beware: you better pay for a parking pass, because one of your own friends could be writing you a ticket. Public Safety at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) hires other students to write tickets on campus parking lots.

Public Safety will hire any student who is eligible for the position; prospective employees cannot have any unresolved criminal history and must be a student at UCM. These students can also be from any field of study, from communications studies to criminal justice majors.

Director of Public Safety and Police, Kim Vansell, said they hire students because it relieves the work load for other police officers and because it is cost effective.

"When police officers get very busy, tickets don't get written," said Vansell. "Student ticket writers are very thorough because they understand how it feels when other students park without a pass. If you park without a permit, you get a ticket."

These student employees not only write parking tickets, but they also help with campus events and parking lot security. When President Obama visited UCM earlier this summer, students worked alongside other police officials to help the event run smoothly. If you are a student and are interested in the hiring process, log in to the Mule4Hire page on UCM's Web site.

How would you feel if another student wrote you a parking ticket? What if it was your own friend? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think.