Down, But Not Out...

Security is an integral part of the campus community that is clearly expected of the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Since the Commentator’s November 2000 issue “Behind Closed Doors,” DPS has undergone external changes creating a more steadfast organization to better suit the needs of the community. However, their organization still suffers from internal problems that continue to pose questions about their credibility.

The chief concern last year was the commissioning of DPS officers. To commission a DPS officer, who can also be referred to as a “special campus security officer,” meant granting the authority to “stop and seize” atop their initial role of patrolling residence halls and ability to make citizens’ arrest. Concluding a process that began early January with DPS Director Tom Fitzpatrick’s announcement that he would begin screening officers for commissioning, the formal ceremony took place April 16 with eight DPS personnel commissioned before administrative staff, other officers, friends and family. Currently, there are 13 commissioned DPS officers.

“The DPS will be more efficient this year,” Fitzpatrick said, “but most students will not notice any difference.” He added that DPS has not changed any of its standard operating procedures and will not become more aggressive in the future. Officers have had to resort to using their new powers on some occasions but still request EPD assistance in dealing with any serious incidents.

However, the commissioning of DPS officers did not come without opposition. Critics feared that the increase of power for DPS officers would lead to the use of firearms to assist in the enforcement of the office’s authority. Director of the Office of Student Advocacy Hilary Berkman was among those who objected to the commissioning of DPS officers. “Once you commission officers on this campus to ‘stop and frisk’ and to make ‘probable cause arrests,’ [seeking firearms] is just the next step,” she said to the Commentator last year.

In spite of this logical argument, Fitzpatrick assures that currently there is no administrative effort to move the issue of firearms forward. “As the law currently exists in Oregon, there is no authority to provide [firearms for DPS officers],” he said. “I do have some concerns about our officers not being armed in terms of the situation they find themselves in…but I’m not out there stumping for it.” He added that he does not foresee them being armed officers in the near future.

He does, however, hope to see an improvement in the training procedures of DPS officers. “I’ve been lobbying for the last two years to allow our officers to go to the same training academy that police officers go to in Oregon,” he said. “There are a lot of things that we do on a daily basis that require us to have that level of training, and so, we’re pushing very hard for that.”

Fitzpatrick is also corresponding with members of the ASUO to create an 11-person advisory committee that will have student representation to offer suggestions to the department. Fitzpatrick said that they are still waiting for members to be appointed but hope to convene shortly after the first of the year.

So, externally, DPS has improved its policies and procedures to maintain a higher level of professionalism. Internally, though, DPS has suffered and continues to suffer from lawsuits, filed grievances and a string of resignations on the basis of allegations of harassment and age and marriage discrimination in the department.

For example, former employees charged former Lieutenant Marte Martinez with allegations of harassment, age discrimination and unequal work opportunity such as favoritism. According to a former employee of the department, who wished to remain anonymous, Martinez’s cases were dismissed with a settlement of $30,000. On a similar note, DPS officer Doug Clegg has filed a lawsuit against the department but specific information about the lawsuit remains confidential. The Clegg case is still pending.

The former employee who spoke to the Commentator said that the internal problems at the DPS are “getting worse.” On the contrary, Fitzpatrick said that they hired a new Lieutenant this summer and he feels “really good” about the current management team. “We hope to continue developing our policies and guidelines, commission our officers and provide better training for them to offer increased safety on campus.”

So externally, DPS has made a lot of improvements to better suit the needs of the community. However, there are still questions about its internal sector and their ability to function as a team of officers. If they can’t trust each other, how does the community learn to trust them?