Last May a newly hired Department of Public Safety Officer was sitting at his post at the Healy Gates around 4 a.m. when the sound of breaking glass shattered the nighttime silence.

He approached the source of the sound and noticed two students destroying the fourth floor window of Gaston Hall.

He was faced with two options – he could pursue the trespassers on foot or radio for assistance.

He chose the latter and the trespassers were then apprehended by other DPS officers. The officer was never forced to abandon his post and continued guarding the front gates of campus.

David Morrell, vice president for university safety, related this anecdote as a reflection of how DPS is refining its message and its role on campus. Had the officer decided to pursue the intruders on foot, they might easily have eluded him and the pursuit would have left the front entrance to campus without surveillance.

“Through additional training of officers and supervisors, increased hiring and other means, DPS is enhancing their presence on campus to increase the deterrence level, as well as focus on providing the highest levels of security possible,” Morrell said.

DPS Director Darryl Harrison recently instituted a “power shift” of officers between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Thursday through Sunday nights – the hours when students are most active.

“Deterrence is about visual impact – seeing the cruisers, seeing the officers walking around,” Morrell said.

With new construction on campus, funds are calculated into the costs of the buildings to account for an increased security demand. Hiring new officers is a lengthy process because of the required background checks and educating those hired to their duties and responsibilities as DPS officers.

Morrell declined to divulge the exact size or growth of the DPS force as to not compromise their actual strength and capabilities.

Adjustments have also been made to the student guard program.

In June, Adrienne Piazza (MSB ’04) was hired by DPS as a student guard coordinator. She has made modifications to the training program that allowed the student guard program to be fully staffed and trained when school opened, the first time such changes have been made. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Morrell said. “Student guards are a very critical part of the security plan on campus and it’s important that they do their jobs and have good training.”

Daniel Thomas (COL ’07), who worked as a student guard both last year and this year has noticed the change in policy.

“Things have been made really tight,” he said. “Student guards are going to be very strict now because their jobs are at stake if they’re lax.”