University of Maine Police Chief Noel March knows that security on a college campus is a unique law enforcement challenge.

The duties of a college security department can range from safeguarding sports venues and nuclear reactors against terrorist attack, to making sure the campus’ learning environment remains safe.

It’s a message March will be bringing to the Syracuse University when the Department of Public Safety hosts the Northeast Colleges and Universities Security Association’s annual conference. The conference, which kicks off June 13 and runs until June 16, is expected to draw a crowd of about 125 campus security chiefs and officers, said Vittoria Didio, business manager for Public Safety and conference organizer.

‘Campus safety is a really special thing, because it takes critical thinking skills that a student development professional would have,’ March said.

College and university security departments often inhabit a gray area of the public’s conscience, somewhere between full-blown municipal police and private rent-a-cops. Members of the college community are often confused about the qualifications and powers of public safety departments. SU’s DPS, has made such a change by upgrading its officers to peace officer status. Those qualifications and powers are increasingly shifting into the realm of sworn police officers, March said.

‘The misnomer of campus cops being on par with mall security guards is long gone,’ he said.

For that reason, it is important that public safety departments take control of their image, March said.

‘You have to define yourself,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, somebody else will define you, and they’ll probably get it wrong.’

This is the second time the university has played host to the conference. The last time was in 1992, when former SU Public Safety officer Mike Byrne was president of the organization. NECUSA’s board of directors was so impressed by SU that they decided to come back, said Lee Struble, president of the organization and director of safety and security at Nazareth College of Rochester.

‘They did a great job that time,’ Struble said.

As an organization, NECUSA provides conferences and workshops to allow college security departments to exchange ideas. The group was formed in 1953 by a few Ivy League schools, mainly to help with crowd control at football games, Struble said. Since then, the group has grown to include 400 members from over 250 colleges and universities throughout the Northeast.

‘The list is quite lengthy, which is a phenomenal fact for this organization,’ Didio said.

This summer’s conference will feature presentations on a range of current issues facing campus security departments including domestic violence, security for international students and March’s presentation on the ‘identity crisis’ in campus law enforcement.

‘The presentation is designed to offer some advice and insight to a department on how to position their image within the public,’ March said.

Another highlight of the conference will be a presentation by Howard and Connie Clery, co-founders of Security on Campus. The couple founded the organization after their daughter, Jeanne, was brutally raped and murdered in her Lehigh University dorm room in 1986. The organization acts as a watchdog for campus security and helped to push through federal laws requiring colleges to report their crime statistics.

‘They’re going to give a presentation on what’s working and where we go from here,’ Didio said of the Clerys’ visit.

The Clerys’ also present an annual award to the department that has made the biggest strides toward improving campus security. SU is among the top three schools in this year’s competition for the honor.

The conference also gives vendors the opportunity to peddle the latest in law enforcement equipment to college departments. Everything from closed-circuit television systems to identification cards and uniforms will be on display.

‘It’s sort of like your one-stop shopping,’ Didio said.

SU may have a bigger chunk of change to spend on new equipment, since the bulk of the event is paid for by NECUSA. The out-of-pocket cost of hosting the conference for SU is $500, a paltry sum considering it costs the university nearly $800 to send its delegation when the conference is held someplace else.

‘There really isn’t any cost burden to the university at this point,’ Didio said.

Published on April 25, 2004 at 12:00 pm