Campus Public Safety Chief Michael Soto hosted the Meet the Chief Forum on Wednesday in the Smith Memorial Student Union. Other than the Vanguard staff, no students attended and Soto said that the forums have been averaging about one or two students since he began them. Students, community members and faculty are encouraged to attend and have the opportunity to learn about campus safety resources and discuss safety topics with Soto.
The recent discovery of a mutilated, dead cat near campus has led officials to question whether the crime is related to an April incident where four maimed kittens were found dead in front of the library. The Oregon Humane Society (OHS) is conducting a joint investigation with Campus Public Safety to find out who committed the killing of the cat found last Thursday and who committed the kitten killings in late April. They are offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. There are currently no suspects.
After a professor found a bomb threat note in a Neuberger Hall men’s bathroom around noon yesterday, Campus Public Safety and other administrators leapt into action, evacuating and searching the hall immediately. Nothing was found and the building was reopened at 5:30 p.m. The note read: “There will be a detonation in Neuberger Hall at 4:30 p.m.,” according to PSU spokesperson Julie Smith. By 12:15 p.m., the building was empty and at 12:40 p.m., caution tape had been put up to ward off students and staff trying to enter Neuberger Hall.
For three years, PSU employee Daniel Korpenfelt allegedly stole about $269,000 worth of lab equipment from the university–often removing the machines from campus in broad daylight.
Campus security officers, administrators and students all got a chance to speak their minds about possible changes to the structure of campus safety at a forum last Thursday, as part of an ongoing effort to review the status of safety at PSU.Attendees spoke positively and negatively about possible changes to the Campus Public Safety department, including possibly arming officers with guns or Tasers, and increasing training.
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.
Portland State has created a committee on university emergency procedures to examine the role of campus public safety officers, as well as look at how effective internal communications would be in the event of an emergency.
No progress has been made in the search for $1,500 of electronic equipment and the culprit who stole it from the ASPSU office in mid-August.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, there is renewed interest in legislation that has been introduced to the Oregon House of Representatives that would arm public safety officers on Oregon University System campuses statewide.
Brian Holsonback had owned his car, worth $8,000, for two months before it was stolen. A month before the car was stolen, it had been broken into. Both crimes occurred in Parking Structure 3 on the PSU campus.
Over a month after $5,000 of audio-visual equipment was stolen from Portland State University’s Hoffmann Hall, Campus Public Safety says the theft is still under investigation and no leads have been determined. One suspect, a man who was seen early in the afternoon talking on a cell phone and opening cabinets that were broken into later that day on Nov.