For many ISU students, summertime means rest and relaxation. For officials in the Department of Public Safety, despite the decreased number of people in Ames, it’s still business as usual.

DPS Director Loras Jaeger said the difference most easily noted about the ISU campus during the summer is simply the number of people absent. According to the ISU Fact Book, total summer enrollment was 8,891 students last summer. Jaeger noted that the sheer number of people in the city during the school year makes for more excitement and activity.

“During school, when there are 27,000 students and an array of activities, it keeps us busy,” he said.

Nick Grossman, DPS student officer coordinator, also cited the decreased student population as a big change for DPS.

“The absence of students alone is enough to be a big difference, but there are still students taking summer classes so we have to be out full force just like during the school year,” said Grossman, senior in art and design.

The decrease in the number of people also means a decrease in what Jaeger calls “opportunity crime,” such as theft and vandalism.

Chad Lovig, DPS student officer coordinator, said while the ISU population decreases, the composition of that population changes, too.

“We see more older people on campus along with an increase in high school students,” said Lovig, junior in sociology.

Jaeger said activity during the summer is somewhat sporadic because there are significantly fewer students and less activities occurring on and around campus. However, he said DPS still keeps pretty busy with activities such as training and special events.

The Special Olympics, Destination Imagination and the upcoming United Church of Christ national conference still keep officers working hard, said Jerry Stewart, associate director of DPS.

During special events on campus, Stewart said DPS is responsible for crowd control, traffic direction and missing persons, in addition to their regular duties of case investigation and patrolling.

Stewart said other summer changes for DPS include further training of employees and increased campus bike patrol.

Last summer was a more high-profile one for DPS, which saw a rash of computer burglaries that amounted to $20,000 in damages to equipment and software. So far, Grossman said, there haven’t been any major cases for officers to deal with.

“This summer, we haven’t seen a whole lot, but we’re only halfway through [the summer],” he said.