WALKING THE BEAT

Campus police to be even more visible

From the Left: Police Chief, Sean Asbury with Emergency Management Coordinator, Andrew Jarvi

Expect Columbus State’s police officers to become even more visible and to keep improving their training, says the college’s new top cop.

The Department of Public Safety is dividing the campus into districts, and assigning each one a team of dedicated officers, says Police Chief Sean Asbury. That way, students and faculty will get to know the officers patrolling their area—and they’ll feel more comfortable reporting possible problems.

The department also hired an emergency management coordinator to further help the college prepare for any eventuality. Following disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and last year’s shootings at Virginia Tech, it’s important to let the campus know what to do in an emergency.

And if that’s not enough visibility, Public Safety is getting a more prominent location. The Department of Public Safety will move to the old bookstore space in Delaware Hall next year. (The department is on the ground floor of Union Hall now).

Columbus State is protected by 21 police officers, nine dispatchers and four safety and security specialists (those are the redshirts). All certified police officers received extra training, especially after they obtained the ability to carry guns in July.

Sean Asbury started in May as Columbus State’s chief of police, after 14 years on the force in Riverside, and he’s hit the ground running. He brings a commitment to community policing, the philosophy that police need to be as visible in their communities as possible.

Asbury started his career as a college police officer, and he relished the chance to get back to it. Policing a college is less about catching bad guys and more about service, Asbury says.

“It’s really all about providing access and service,” Asbury says, “being able to give them a hand, and get them where they want to go.”