Most of us would probably think of “parking tickets” whenever we hear “Campus Safety.” However, their job entails many other responsibilities. I had the chance to speak with Chad Martie, Campus Safety director, and ask some of questions about their role on campus.
Q: What is the exact role of Campus Safety?
A: Our exact role would be to assist and protect faculty, staff, students, in any way possible and try to protect the campus at all costs at all times.*
*William Jewell College uses AlliedBarton Security Services to provide a trained officer on duty on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. The following information is taken from the Campus Crime and Fire Safety Report regarding the responsibilities of campus safety:
- Responding to medical emergencies on campus
- Responding to calls reporting any altercation or out of the ordinary incident on campus
- Responding to calls reporting any theft or other criminal activity on campus
- Maintaining a Daily Incident Log
- Maintaining regular and documented patrols of campus
- Providing on-campus rides to any community member who has concerns for their safety
- Responding to any and all alarm notifications
- Providing residence hall/room access to a student who has been locked out, provided they have first attempted to contact their RA or RD for assistance
Q: How do we contact campus safety?
A: You can contact us on our cell phone number, which is 816-365-0709, our campus number, which is 415-1411, or email us at campussafety@william.jewell.edu.
Q: How long does it take for a campus safety member to respond to an emergency?
A: Emergencies along the lines of medical emergencies or a fire or any major emergency would take anywhere from two to four minutes on campus for an emergency call.
Q: What is the average number of calls you receive per day?
A: It varies per day. We normally receive 10 to 15 per shift so that’s around 45 calls per day.
Q: Where is the exact office located?
A: It is located in the basement of Ely next to the facilities management office.**
**The campus safety office is located in Ely Hall, Room B-23 A
Q: How well are campus safety workers trained?
A: We go through training for basic security and safety procedure. We are also First Aid, CPR and AED trained. We all also go through driving training.
Q: What would be the emergency procedures in case of fire or a storm?
A: In case of a real fire or a storm, your first call should be 911 and then us afterwards to inform us what is going on.
Q: Are there any updates this year on how you respond to emergency?
A: Quickly and safely as possible is how we always respond and how it always will be.
Q: Would you consider an option like giving a specific number of warnings to each student before issuing a parking ticket?
A: I would say no, but if students contact us saying that they’re going to have to park somewhere just for a couple of minutes to run and get something or unpack their cars, we would let that happen as long they’re not parking next to a fire zone or anything like that. The main thing is they call us and just let us know that they’re going to be there, and we normally don’t say no.
Q: Would you respond to a Jewell student if he’s having an emergency near but off-campus?
A: We are not allowed to. We do not have jurisdiction off-campus. If we are contacted with a situation like that, we will call Liberty PD and 911 to get assistance as quickly as possible.
Q: Under what circumstances would you contact a student’s parents?
A: Never. We do not contact parents. That’s on Student Life.
Safety procedures and guidelines are available on Jewell’s website and are located around campus. The Annual Campus Crime and Fire Safety Report was recently published and provides a breakdown of the types of incidents that occurred on campus in 2012, 2013 and 2014 as well as policies, procedures, prevention efforts and programs for alcohol, drugs, dating violence, stalking, domestic violence and sexual assault.