Future of PSU campus safety up for debate

Portland State’s safety committee, formed after the events at Virginia Tech, is holding a public forum tomorrow to get opinions on whether PSU Public Safety should become a full-fledged police department, let officers carry firearms and increase officer training.

The ad hoc committee was created after Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner ordered all seven public universities in Oregon University System (OUS) to examine their public safety systems in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre.

There have been four forums since the creation of the committee in late January. The forums have focused on two key issues: the jurisdiction of university public safety officers and an efficient means of spreading information in the event of an emergency.

“I think there is some general consensus that PSU, being a unique urban environment, needs to have some unique urban solutions,” said Ron Tammen, chair of the campus safety committee.

The committee is looking at different options to alert the university in the event of an emergency, including installing loud speakers, sending cell phone and e-mail notifications, and possibly adding hall monitors.

Three new public safety models will be presented at the forum that would either create a Portland State police department, a PSU branch of a statewide police force governed by the OUS, or have the university contract with another police department. The university may also choose to keep the public safety model as it is now.

Although public safety could adapt any one of the models, it is also possible to take various characteristics from them to create a new one.

“It was never supposed to be fixed,” said committee member Mark Wubbold about the different public safety models. “What we have here is kind of a shopping list.”

Armed or not?

At least one of the models, contracting through an existing law organization, includes arming officers with weapons. Under a Portland State police department or a PSU branch of a statewide OUS police department, officers could be armed with guns or tasers, but that would be determined by an OUS or PSU discussion.

So far, response to the issue has been mixed, Wubbold said.

“It’s a full spectrum of response,” he said about arming officers. “I wouldn’t say there’s a strong feeling one way or another at this point.”

Training levels

Currently, public safety officers on campus are not full-fledged police officers. Officers receive six weeks of basic training and do not carry tasers or guns. They have the power to arrest, but officers must call the Portland Police Department in the event of a crisis.

A new model could increase the amount of training public safety officers get by 10 weeks, from six to 16 weeks. This is something that’s very important, Tammen said.

“If there is an incident on campus, Public Safety’s only recourse is to call the Portland Police,” said Tammen, who is also the director of the Hatfield School of Government. “Our public safety officers need to have substantially more training than they are getting.”

Who’s in charge

Depending on what model PSU chooses to create, jurisdiction over the police department could vary from the university’s current model.

Options include creating a new full PSU police department, creating a PSU branch of the existing OUS police department or contracting with an outside police organization such as the Portland Police.

The open campus forum on public safety will be held Feb. 7 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Smith Memorial Student Union, room 338. The event is open to students and the public.