DOC Collaboration Improves Security for College Campus

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                      March 5, 2008

SPOKANE – The Department of Corrections (DOC) joined Spokane Community Oriented Policing Services (C.O.P.S.) and the Spokane Police Department today to open a new C.O.P.S. substation to increase safety at Spokane Community College.

It is the first substation of its kind on a college campus and the 13th C.O.P.S substation in Spokane. It combines DOC’s neighborhood based supervision program with campus security enforcement to ensure a safe environment for students and the community.

“We encourage offenders to go to school and get an education in order to live as law-abiding citizens,” says DOC Secretary Eldon Vail. “But recent violence at colleges across the country reminds us of the importance of providing a safe environment for all students.”

The C.O.P.S. program is an innovative partnership between the Spokane Police Department (SPD) and the community that protects the public through the use of volunteers and neighborhood specific programs. DOC contributes to the success of this program by assigning Community Corrections Officers to C.O.P.S. substations to work with police officers and the community.

“I see this as a shining example of what interagency cooperation can and should be locally and statewide,” says Spokane C.O.P.S. director Christy Hamilton. “With this campus substation we have the opportunity to involve segments of the community that until today have not been reached.”

Officers at the SCC substation can respond more quickly to issues that may arise with offenders enrolled at the college. They coordinate with SPD, campus security officers and volunteers to share information about offenders and monitor their actions. Criminal Justice students also work at the substation as interns to learn more about law enforcement careers.

In addition to the college campus the C.O.P.S. substation will serve the Chief Garry and Minnehaha neighborhoods. C.O.P.S. crime prevention programs include Block Watch, McGruff, Registered Sex Offenders and Graffiti Clean-up.

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