A Sit Down with Public Safety

Katherine Lovelidge | Writer

What exactly does public safety do? Keep the campus safe, right?

Well, yes. But the scope of their responsibility expands far beyond breaking up fights.

The morning of a public safety administrator like Gary Olewine can start as early as 3 a.m. Olewine is on campus before anyone else his day starts with unlocking the entire campus.

“I start my journey around. It takes about, without any issues, an hour to unlock everything,” Olewine says.

Ashley Gonzalez is another key player in LCCC’s public safety department. She is tasked with the crucial role of training the officers.

“I love the fact that I get to not only train our officers, but I also get to train faculty and staff,” said Gonzalez.

Nowadays, the role of law enforcement is changing. To keep up with the times, LCCC sent Gonzalez to MOAB training.

MOAB, which stands for Management of Aggressive Behavior, is a new type of training which seeks to teach officers de-escalation techniques such as how to bring an end to situations peacefully and with a more hands-off approach.

Speaking of officers, George Calaba, Director of Facilities and Public Safety, said LCCC could use more.

Students are perfect part-time officers. They can work 20 hours per week and reap a plethora of benefits including a competitive paycheck, tuition reduction, law enforcement experience, and training courses paid for by the college. Calaba encourages interested students to apply.

But what exactly are these officers looking for when on patrol?

Olewine tells us that they are looking for anything out of the ordinary. Officers seek to find anything out of place and keep an eye out to make sure that an endangering situation does not occur.

His message for the student body: “If you see something that you don’t feel is right, don’t hesitate to contact us.”