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Photo by Thelma Lucas/The Advocate
Public Safety Officer Jeff Potts sits in a public safety vehicle writing in the MHCC crime log Thursday. MHCC currently has seven public safety officers. Public Safety has many available sources and for more information visit public safety or call at 503-491-7310.
Public Safety works to make college a better place
The Advocate
The MHCC Public Safety Department wants is be a part of the college awareness.
“We try to be visible and be out there, being seen on campus,” said Wayne Feagle, Interim Public Safety Lead Officer.
Feagle, who retired from the military after 20 years as a Navy officer, is temporarily leading the department after the departure of Director of Public Safety Don Oliver.
Originally the position was for six months and has been extended another six months. It could possibly be extended again. That decision will rest in the hands of the new safety and security supervisor, who is not yet been hired. The decision also depends on the college budget.
There are currently seven officers hired for security on campus. According to Feagle, there should be two officers on at all times during the day and swing shifts and one on for graveyard and weekend shifts.
Some of the faces of public safety include officers Carl Stromseth on day shift, Cherlyn Nederhiser on swing shift, and Richard Taskar on graveyard shift.
Feagle’s position was created in order to free up the supervisor from the day to day type duties so they can focus more on creating security measures.
Dick Byers, director of facility management, was hoping to fill the supervisor position by now but the search is ongoing.
Feagle is confident in the selection of the candidate and says a strength of the department is that they have a “very knowledgeable staff with a good solid background in security.”
In many ways, having an experienced security team does benefit the college, he said, but he advises that staying safe is the also the responsibility of students and staff.
Being aware of what is offered to everyone is a good way to stay safe and, according to Byers, there are “no measures being taken that are not publicized.”
Public Safety takes measures to ensure that all new and returning students and staff are made aware of the risks and provide information to educate on how to avoid becoming a victim.
They reach out through speaking to classrooms, providing safety education on software for new students, alerting of imminent danger and updating the public safety link to the college web site.
Feagle advises that everyone should “be alert, and keep property close,” He says that it’s “mostly unattended property that gets stolen.”
Some of the services offered to students and staff vary from emergency response to everyday safety precautions. Public Safety officers are available to escort people to their vehicles at anytime; there is emergency automotive assistance to provide jumpstarts; there are closed circuit cameras monitoring “broad areas of campus” according to the Public Safety link at the MHCC web site.
According to the Public Safety reports (2005-2007) posted on MHCC’s web site, automobile theft has been the number one crime committed on the Gresham and Maywood campuses. “Lock your vehicle and do not leave valuables on the front seat,” Byers said.
There were 22 reported car thefts in 2005, 18 in 2006, and 22 in 2007.
The Gresham Police Department teams up with MHCC Public Safety annually and performs a “car check.” They will go through the parking lot and check vehicles for valuables in plain sight, then send a letter to the registered owners advising them that they are at risk for vehicle theft.
Violent crimes such as rape and murder are consistently low in occurrence. One rape was reported in 2007, with none in 2005 or 2006. There have been zero murders in the three years the reports cover and one incident each year of aggravated assault in 2006/2007.
A weakness that Feagle finds in the department is manpower. He would like to add more staff in the Public Safety Department, but manpower is controlled by the budget which currently doesn’t have room to hire more officers. More camera monitoring, cutting down the brush, the possibility of limiting building access to card holders, are all things he said the college plans for but can’t find the money to pay for.
Byers has some common sense advice for anyone who chooses to use the parking at MHC
C: “Park only in designated parking spaces that are identified by white lines. Park outside of those spaces and you will be ticketed. Any other parking is not lawful parking.
The lots and curbs are not marked by red paint because they are not fire lanes. No parking signs are not necessary for prudent and responsible drivers.”
Feagle said Public Safety officers “want to be there as a friend and make sure students and staff are safe. We are not here to harass them.”
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