Career Focus 4-2 - Sandhills Community College

CareerFocus
Feature
Safety and Security
are Top Priorities
at Sandhills
Crime Prevention Officer Dwight Threet is one of the several officers at
Sandhills Community College. His is a familiar face on campus since he patrols
regularly. Here, he is seen with Therapeutic Massage Student Ceara Williams.
Sandhills Community
College is dedicated to
protecting students,
faculty, staff and
campus visitors from
harm. From what was
formerly a Security
division, the Sandhills
Community College Police and
Public Safety Department was
established in 2010.
“Security has become a pressing
issue in an era of unpredictable and
often inexplicable campus violence,”
said Director David Reece. “At
Sandhills, we are confident that we
are making our campus as safe as
possible.”
The Police and Public Safety
Department was established to
provide a quicker response time
to incidents on campus and to
offer campus-specific services not
necessarily available from local
policing organizations. It staffs its
own professional police officers and
is responsible for campus safety and
law enforcement.
Under North Carolina State Law,
the college’s officers possess full
police powers on all property owned
or occupied by the college. The
department also operates under
a written mutual aid agreement
with the Southern Pines Police
Department, which gives each
department concurrent jurisdiction
under special circumstances
although primary jurisdictional
areas are routinely respected.
Sandhills police officers have direct
radio contact with Moore County
Communications. In the event of
an emergency, the need to report a
crime, or to report a traffic accident,
individuals should call 911. Moore
County Communications will contact
the on-duty Sandhills police officer
by radio. In addition, officers will
continue to be available by telephone
but can best be reached through
Moore County Communications.
In addition to providing day-to-day
safety, the college provides ongoing
training for faculty and staff from
experts throughout the nation. A
recent training presentation on
verbal de-escalation provided helpful
tactics to use during a potentially
dangerous or threatening situation.
Another training session explored
behavioral intervention, which will
serve to provide behavioral support
to students who display challenging
behaviors.
“Sandhills wants to remain
proactive with safety and security,”
Reece said. “We want to let the
public know that we take their
safety seriously and work hard
to give everyone peace of mind
whenever they are on our campus.”
The Police and Public Safety Department was established to
provide a quicker response time to incidents on campus and
to offer campus-specific services not necessarily available
from local policing organizations.
Officer Joe Steppe
10
I Volume 4 • Issue 2 I CareerFocus www.sandhills.edu I Sandhills Community College I (910) 692-6185