University security

Georgetown’s University in Washington, D.C. – a Securitas client since 2002 – employs 69 public safety professionals, including 57 commissioned officers who provide around-the-clock police and security services on the 102-acre campus.

“The demand for security services has increased dramatically in recent years, and has surpassed our ability to recruit and hire additional officers,” says Darryl Harrison, Director of Security at Georgetown University.  “Securitas gives us the flexibility to increase security coverage when needed, with qualified and trained officers.”

Securitas officers currently assist with the 24-hour, on-site security provided at student residence halls, as well as at an off-campus classroom building, the construction site of the university’s new business school, and after-hours at the medical school library.

The university’s Department of Public Safety officers and managers patrol the 14,000-student campus, monitor approximately 200 strategically placed CCTV cameras, and respond to emergency calls and alarms.  However, due to jurisdictional constraints, university officers do not have authority in most off-campus residential areas where many students live.

To address complaints about student behavior received from university neighbors, Securitas worked with the Office of Off Campus Student Life to significantly enhance the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP).  On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., a SNAP response team member from the Office of Off Campus Student Life, accompanied by a Securitas USA officer, respond to complaints made by neighbors via the University Hotline, a dedicated telephone line answered by a Department of Public Safety officer.  The Securitas officer and SNAP response team member go to the source of the complaint, address the behavior or situation that led to the hotline call, and talk to the students about their responsibilities as residents of the neighborhood.

In addition, the Securitas officer and a SNAP response team member regularly patrol the West Georgetown and Burleith neighborhoods, an approximately 45-block area, providing visible security for students, as well as permanent residents.  Incidents or safety issues requiring support services are immediately reported to the Metropolitan Police or the university’s Department of Public Safety, as appropriate.

“Rather than the response-only approach that we originally followed, the patrols give us a more proactive presence,” adds Charles VanSant, Georgetown University’s Director of Off Campus Student Life.  “Many times, we’re able to intervene before we get a complaint, and that’s always the best-case scenario for everyone.”

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