Holding cell, lockers, communication center to be added to site
The main concern of the Department of Public Safety and Security Services has always been to keep students, faculty and staff safe at Saint Louis University.
In order to maintain this safety and continue improving upon it, DPSSS is under construction. By January of 2012, DPSSS will be relocated in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Center, and will undergo many improvements.
“[I’m] excited about the new location, improvements being made and creating a safer environment,” DPSSS Assistant Director of Field Operations Captain Kenneth Hornak said.
DPSSS is currently located in DuBourg Hall and is no more than 3,000 square feet. With the move to the Wool building, the headquarters will span 6,000 square feet, and will include men and women locker rooms, an advanced communication center and a holding cell.
According to Assistant Vice President of DPSSS Roland Corvington, the purpose of the improvements is greater than a simple location change or cell addition.
“My hope is to increase productivity, improve morale of the officers and [create] a more professional work environment more conducive for what we do,” Corvington said.
An example of how a safer environment would be created comes in the form of the Communications Center.
Currently DPSSS has no way of knowing the location of their officers if something were to happen to them in the field.
“The new technology that will be placed in [the Communications Center] will be able to know their whereabouts at any given time,” Corvington said.
DPSSS officers are licensed by the Board of Police Commissioners as private security officers.
Along with this license comes the authority to make an arrest on campus, as well as to search and seize evidence in connection with the arrest.
With the addition of the holding cell, officers will now have a safe place to hold those under arrest while an investigation takes place.
Currently perpetrators are held in the “Role Call” room, also located in DuBourg Hall, offering less than ideal safety conditions.
“We would handcuff them to a chair and have an officer keep an eye on them until the police arrived,” Corvington said.
Senior in the John Cook School of Business and SLU Ride employee Chelsey Cisar said she believes that an addition of a holding cell to the DPSSS location will add to the overall safety on campus.
“There have been times when I have gone into work and while I am clocking in, there is someone in handcuffs sitting in a chair in the room… having a place to keep those who pose a threat to students is a great plan,” Cisar said.
Individuals can be arrested for any criminal act, including anything from felonies to misdemeanors and city ordinance violations.
Corvington said that the holding cell will facilitate a safer environment for the procedure of such arrests.
“The holding cell is for those individuals, regardless of who they are, that are arrested during our patrols on campus,” Corvington said.
