This security group, called the Mule Patrol after the university's mascot, is jointly funded by the university's parking lot operations and CMSU's dormitories, the Department of Residential Life. It has a specific uniform which distinguishes it from the university police, and its members, who are students, carry no weapons of any kind. Further, the Mule Patrol has no arrest powers, cannot leave its assigned patrol areas, is under the direction of the Department of Public Safety, must be courteous at all times, and must strive to render assistance to the best of its ability to anyone who needs it. The Mule Patrol has been in operation little more than three years, and it has exceeded the university's expectations. Rumors of rape on campus have been virtually eliminated, and Mule Patrol members have played an instrumental role in apprehending automobile thieves working the university's parking lot. At the same time, patrol members have gathered information useful in solving burglaries, larcenies, and drug cases. Mule Patrol officers, who number 16, serve as excellent public ambassadors for the Department of Public Safety, and have reduced the amount of overtime required for campus police officers -- thereby conserving financial resources and reducing officer burnout. As for their own contributions to campus, Mule Patrol officers have become more conscientious about their responsibilities to the campus community, and they benefit from the knowledge that perhaps the biggest byproduct of the Mule Patrol program is that students are helping to protect fellow students.