The University of Arizona Police Department honored those who do their best to stay vigilant and report crimes within the community during an awards ceremony on Wednesday.

“We realize as police officers that we can’t be everywhere all the time,” said UAPD Sgt. Juan Alvarez. “We like to build a relationship with our community. We rely upon the community to do their part to help us keep the community safe.”

Six people were honored for their service to UAPD and their efforts to help keep the community safe. Martin Pelger, a medication management specialist and clinical instructor at the UA Medication Management Center, and Nancy Colbert, an administrator and project coordinator at the College of Pharmacy, were awarded for helping police apprehend a man who had written graffiti on the side of the College of Pharmacy building. Pelger had noticed the man marking graffiti, and followed him inside the College of Pharmacy, where he lost track of him. Working with Colbert, they were able to provide a good enough physical description of the suspect that he was quickly apprehended.

Facilities Management custodian Teresa Ruiz was honored for a quick call to police about a bike theft in progress near the Meinel Optical Sciences building. Because of her quick call, and description of the suspect, UAPD was able to apprehend the thief.

Linda Littleman saw two men trying to steal a bicycle from the north side of the Gould-Simpson building. One of the men noticed her and told her that they had lost the key to the bicycle lock. Littleman called the police regardless, and the two men were caught shortly thereafter.

Jasimine Evans, a senior studying chemistry and psychology, was working the front desk at Villa del Puente Residence Hall when she saw a man walking around bicycle racks by the dorm. The man pulled out a pair of bolt cutters, cut through the lock of the bike, and walked the bike to a nearby bench. Evans called the police, the suspect was caught and the bike was returned to its owner.

“It’s nice to be honored for doing something that a lot of people should do,” Evans said. “I feel like this is a good program to say to not be a bystander and get involved.”

Andrew Manukyan, community director for Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall, also stopped a bicycle theft. While he was working, he saw a man jiggling the lock on a bicycle. Manukyan called the police, who were able to stop the man while he was still in the bike racks.

“As much as it’s good to put someone on jail for committing a crime, the better part of all this is they saved someone else from being a victim,” said Anthony Daykin, the chief of UAPD.