"Our primary role is to provide service, and particularly safety services, to the campus community," director Harry Kinne said.
Safety and Security is completing a multi-year accreditation process to codify and regulate policies in accordance with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, which provides coded and regulated standards for 1,200 campus security organizations in 20 countries.
This July, Safety and Security hopes to receive accreditation by retraining officers on appropriate policies and formally documenting all security force actions.
"One of the things accreditation does is it requires you to prove that you're following your policies," Kinne said. "It makes you walk the walk."
JURISDICTION AND DUTIES
Dartmouth is the only Ivy League institution other than Columbia University that does not staff sworn officers in its campus security department. Kinne said the department is primarily a security rather than law enforcement organization.
Most of Safety and Security's duties do not include College rule and regulation enforcement. Instead, officers perform routine patrols of the campus and act as medical transports, responding to medical emergencies and "calls for service."
"We do enforce rules and regulation, that's part of our job, but it's not the first thing at the top of our job description," Kinne said.
Kinne said Safety and Security has no intention to become a sworn law enforcement agency, and considers safety issues and the College's policies when dealing with alcohol-related incidents.
"When it comes to alcohol and overconsumption of alcohol, we take it seriously," he said. "Not so much from the fact that it's a violation of New Hampshire law, but our concern is that someone may be putting themselves at risk."
Alpha Xi Delta sorority president Victoria Townsend '14 said Safety and Security's alcohol policy enforcement is within the scope of its jurisdiction.
"You really only get arrested if you've gotten Good-Sammed and are a danger to other people," she said.
Fraternities have a good working relationship with Safety and Security, Interfraternity Council public relations chair Sam Bauer '14 said.
IFC and fraternity executives maintain the relationship by making Safety and Security officers feel comfortable during walkthroughs.
"We're usually pretty friendly with them," Bauer said. "They try to work with us as much as they can as opposed to trying to push down onto us. They have to do their job, and if that includes tougher measures, then they'll do that."
Last fall, Safety and Security worked with fraternities to ensure that both organizations smoothly implemented the College's harm reduction policies.
"When you work on campus, and you're in public campus safety, every relationship is like a marriage," Kinne said. "You have to work on it every day."
HANOVER POLICE
Safety and Security's relationship with Hanover Police is officially outlined in a shared memorandum of understanding. While this memorandum requires collaboration between the two departments Safety and Security, for example, is obligated to report some campus felonies to Hanover Police their jurisdictions do not significantly overlap.
"Hanover Police is a law enforcement agency and they have primary law enforcement responsibilities for Hanover," Kinne said. "Our responsibilities are to the people and property of Dartmouth College. We enforce Dartmouth rules and regulations. We don't enforce the law because we're not law enforcement officers."
Since Safety and Security is not law enforcement agency, it does not technically does not have jurisdiction over the town of Hanover and the College.
"Safety and Security has responsibilities to provide protection for campus, but that's not really jurisdiction," Acting Hanover Police Chief Moran said. "If there's a crime, we take the lead. If it's another problem, Safety and Security can usually cover it on their own."
The organizations collaborate on student crime reports, emergency response and event planning during big weekends.
Hanover Police typically arrests students for three major crimes: New Hampshire liquor law violation, sexual assault and property-related crimes, such as theft or vandalism. It prefers not to arrest students, opting to send first-time liquor law offenders to Diversions instead.
"We understand that we are dealing with young and gifted people who will occasionally do things we can't condone," Moran said. "It's understandable and somewhat expected."
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Safety and Security's hierarchal structure allows for nine designated supervisors, who oversee patrol officer units, communication officers and night security guards.
"When I first got here, I reorganized and now there is a Safety and Security supervisor on every single hour of every single day, so someone is there to make decisions," Kinne said.
Communication officers, who oversee telephone calls, are students' first point of contact. They receive alarm signals and monitor the roughly 100 cameras installed throughout campus, relaying signals to patrols and night security guards.
Patrol officers monitor campus 24 hours a day, while night security guards complete two physical security checks of campus buildings between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. every night.
All officers work ten hour shifts, and usually remain at Dartmouth four to five years.
"I think in a lot of cases, if they stay four or five years, they end up staying longer," Kinne said.
COMPARISON WITH OTHER UNIVERSITIES
Columbia's Department of Public Safety puts less emphasis on student safety in dorms and more on keeping students safe in New York City.
"Drinking and alcohol is not at the top of their safety priority list," sophomore Sonali Mehta said. "I've heard of some frat parties being ended by Public Safety, but that doesn't happen often. They are here to stop muggings and actual violence."
Campus security has a strong presence on the Columbia campus.
"Starting at sundown, we have officers standing all around campus, on all the streets," Mehta said. "You can always see them."
Like Dartmouth's Safe Ride program, Public Safety runs a night shuttle to drive students who are uncomfortable walking alone.
At Brown University, the Department of Public Safety, affectionately called "Bro-Po" by students, focuses on protecting, not punishing, students.
"They are fairly relaxed," freshman Christine Herrmann said. "They will break up parties from time to time, but they mostly just let people go. That being said, there are times when they are out in full force."
Brown's Public Safety has 80 members who patrol the campus 24 hours a day on foot, by car and by bicycle. It employs sworn police officers, who are allowed to carry guns.
For the most part, Brown students have a good relationship with Public Safety.
"The only people who don't like Bro-Po are the ones who are drunk so often and in public that they've had multiple run-ins with them," Herrmann said.
Middlebury College's Department of Public Safety "definitely plays a huge role in determining the social scene at Middlebury," sophomore Sam Rives said.
Students' major complaint is that the officers can be harsh with students who have broken parking rules, Rives said.
ACCREDITATION PROCESS
Safety and Security plans to have a mock assessment in May, followed by an on-site accreditation assessment in late July.
"We look at it as a way to assure the College that we have the best practices that are out there and we do appropriate training for our people, and that we maintain good policies and they are up-to date," Kinne said.
After accreditation, Safety and Security will have clear guidelines and training programs for new employees. Officers currently attend a variety of training programs at the College's discretion.
"Many of the things in accreditation we're already doing, but this requires us to document it and show it," Kinne said. "That's a huge difference, and it sets a standard."
Some students said they were uncertain whether accreditation would drastically change Safety and Security's policies and organizational duties.
"Maybe the national policies are better, but maybe they're not," Stephen Malina '15 said. "I don't see why that's a solution in itself, unless the national policies are better and that's why they're adopting them."
Kinne said Safety and Security must be re-accredited every four years.
"It's really a check and a balance to make sure you're staying at that standard," he said.
