January 28, 2012 Lackawanna College security sworn in as police officers www.privateofficer.com
Scranton PA Jan 28 2012 Eleven former security guards at Lackawanna College now serve the institution as private police officers, a designation that gives the individual officers and the agency new powers in keeping the campus safe.
The 11 officers were sworn in as private police officers by Magisterial District Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell on Friday and now have the power to arrest individuals on and in areas adjacent to the Lackawanna College campus.
Previously, the college’s 15 guards – four of whom work part time and were not sworn in as private police officers – were only Act 120-certified and could only make arrests on the college’s property, said Gary Shoener, director of public safety for the college.
But what may be the biggest asset the certification affords the agency is it will now have access to law enforcement databases commonly used by municipal police officers to identify suspects, Mr. Shoener said.
“The push for us is it will give us access to databases,” Mr. Shoener said.
While officers may not need to identify the college’s students, should they come upon an unknown visitor they can simply provide the person’s information to the Lackawanna County Communications Center to have it checked through databases to see if they are wanted, Mr. Shoener said.
Mr. Shoener said he is in talks with officials at the county communications center and the state police to coordinate their use of the databases.
Additionally, Mr. Shoener said he has spoken with Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola and Scranton Police Chief Dan Duffy about arranging memorandums of understanding to govern how his officers interact with city police.
While students at the college have recently had high-profile brushes with the law – including the armed robbery of a Hill Section home occupied by students at the University of Scranton in November – Mr. Shoener and Lackawanna College spokesman Chris Kucharski said the certification was only the next step in the public safety department’s strategic plan.
“It’s because we’re getting bigger,” Mr. Kucharski said. “There was no single incident that made us think we have to get our public safety private. … It’s part of our strategic plan. There was no timing of it. It just happened when it happened
Source:thetimes-tribune.com
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