Tag: Campus Safety

Portland State’s Campus Public Safety Office has created a new detective position within the agency and filled it with retired Portland Police Bureau Detective Matt Horton.

From Dec. 22 to New Year’s Day, almost every Portland State building was locked and closed—save residence halls, where some students spent their winter breaks.

In light of recent violence on campus and ongoing violence nationwide, many students may decide to make themselves aware of resources available to them to help prevent becoming a victim themselves.

Last month’s tragic shootings at Clackamas Town Center and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. bring even more attention to an ongoing issue at Portland State: the possibility that PSU’s Campus Public Safety Office may soon become a sworn law enforcement agency with armed police officers.

What would campus look like if Portland State’s Campus Public Safety Office became a sworn law enforcement agency?

And how would these changes be paid for?

Portland State Campus Public Safety Office Patrol Sgt. Joe Schilling was a young man looking for a rewarding career that would provide for his family when he went into the field of law enforcement with the Portland Police Bureau.

On a dark, rainy Tuesday, the Associated Students of Portland State University senate convened. The hottest topic on the agenda: the Campus Public Safety Office.

The university is engaged in internal discussions about creating an armed campus police force.

While the changes would place Portland State on par with other similarly-sized colleges, critics of the idea say it’s merely about arming officers based on flawed research.