Georgia Northwestern Technical College creates police force
Rock Spring, GA Sept 28 2018
The safety of our students, faculty and staff as well as visitors to our campuses is of the highest priority,” said GNTC President Pete McDonald. “A safe campus environment is critical to learning and skill development. Our new police officers are highly experienced officers who bring many years of knowledge to the challenge of developing and maintaining a safe college experience
Georgia Northwestern Technical College has created and gained state approval for its own police force to handle incidents and promote student, faculty, staff and visitor safety at each of the school’s six campuses.“for everyone.”
In the past, the college employed part-time, off-duty officers from other agencies to police its campuses in the nine-county service area.
“If you have an officer from another police department working for you and something happens, they have to follow the policies and guidelines for their department,” said Chad Cardin, who was named chief of GNTC Police in March.
With its own police force, the college will have the ability to set its own policies and procedures to allow a concentrated focus on policing in the college environment.
“This means that we have more control,” said Cardin. “It is also advantageous to have a campus police department because you can operate it with less expense than hiring officers from other agencies.”
A veteran police officer in the northwest Georgia region, Cardin has served as a police officer and trainer for the Tunnel Hill Police Department, assistant chief of police and captain in Ringgold, a police officer for Fort Oglethorpe as well as Dalton and a detention officer for the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The police department at the college is a fully certified state police agency as signified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and the Georgia Crime Information Center, according to Cardin.
“Campus police officers have full police powers and we are the same as other law enforcement agencies in the state of Georgia,” said Cardin.
Their jurisdiction, as defined by Georgia law, is public or private property under the control of Georgia Northwestern Technical College plus a 500 foot perimeter. GNTC’s police department operates under the authority of the Technical College System of Georgia.
“So far we have hired four full-time officers and I have 12 part-time officers who will join the department soon,” said Cardin.
The college’s police force has also reached out to other law enforcement agencies in the area to work together whenever necessary, and has entered into mutual aid agreements with surrounding counties and municipalities. Under these agreements, college police officers can operate off campus when requested by other agencies to assist them.
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