University officials are conducting a campus assessment to determine if OCU is safe enough.
The assessment follows the March 12 termination of former police chief Jennifer Rodgers.
President Martha Burger sent a campuswide email March 26 informing the community about the safety assessment. The process was scheduled to begin Monday by Nathan Pyle, interim police chief, and Joey Croslin, vice president of human resources.
“The safety and security of our campus community is always a priority for me and continual assessment and planning are important factors to maintaining a well-protected campus,” Burger wrote in the email.
Former police chief Bradd Brown will lead the assessment, Burger wrote in the email. Brown worked with campus police from 2015-17 after a 25-year career with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
“He will review policies, procedures, training, budgeting, and other aspects of the department to advise us on the most effective ways to move forward,” Burger wrote in the email.
Croslin said Brown will lead the assessment because of his familiarity with the OCU Police Department and experience conducting safety assessments.
“He has his own consulting business and does this kind of work for others,” she said.
Croslin said, because of the change in leadership in the police department, a safety assessment is important to have a stronger department for the future.
Pyle took over the position of interim police chief March 11.
A permanent police chief hopefully will be hired in the next few months, Croslin said.
“I’d like to get through our campus safety assessment and see what our strengths are, maybe what we need to work on, and go from there,” she said.
Croslin said there are 13 positions in the campus police department, but only nine are filled.
Camryn McPherson, physician assistant graduate, posted in the OCU Facebook group March 21 saying she was confused about the availability of campus police.
“Is the police station no longer accessible 24 hours a day,” she said in the post. “I tried to go there just now and it was locked, and I could not find anyone to speak to.”
Jay Williams, religion junior, said, despite the changes in authority, he has had positive experiences working with the police.
“Just talking with and hearing from the students on campus, there seemed to be a lot of anxiety concerning the article of Chief Rodger’s termination,” he said. “I think the university takes our safety seriously and are taking active measures to work out the kinks we are currently experiencing.”
The assessment will give officials a sense of where they are with officer training, Croslin said.
“That’s why we’re engaging in this assessment,” she said. “To see how our resources compare to what we need to provide in order to keep the campus safe and secure.”
The campus police department is continuing to provide 24/7 coverage, Croslin said.
“I’m not aware of there not being an officer on campus,” she said. “Chief Pyle was ensuring that we have 24/7 coverage.”
OCUPD and the office of student affairs are planning events in April to recognize Alcohol Awareness Month, Burger wrote in the email. The events are:
– Golf cart drunk driving simulation test Thursday
– Coffee and donuts with the cops session April 11
– Dangers of DUI discussion and demonstration April 18
Campus police work hard to ensure the campus is safe, Croslin said.
“I would recognize the great work that our police staff do for the campus community,” she said. “I think it goes unrecognized sometimes. They really are here at all hours of the day and night making sure that we’re safe.”
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