South Dakota School of Mines and Technology adds police force
RAPID CITY, S.D. Sept 21 2020— The past several years, surveys have indicated strong support for campus police officers and increased security on campus.
The effort heightens the security for students and staff.
Douglas Parrow, Chief Campus Safety at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology says, “We are extremely familiar with the buildings, the lay out and so forth and way more than outside units that would be coming in.”
The University worked with the city attorneys office and RCPD to allow them to have sworn and trained university law enforcement personnel to carry a weapon on campus. Previously, public safety officers on campus operated without firearms.
School of Mines employs 20 campus public safety officers, aiming to quicken response time to an emergency or if someone got hurt.
Parrow adds, “It would put a uniformed police offer on scene so much quicker.”
Parrow has been in law enforcement since 1984, and was been with the University for about 7 1/2 years prior to becoming sworn in as the campus police chief in February of 2020. He will supervise the Campus Police and Campus Safety Departments and says the response to the additions has been welcomed.
“It’s been really positive, I’ve talked to several students, I’ve talked to several staff and faculty and they seem to be pretty happy that we are here,” says Parrow.
SDSM&T will be the third campus in state with campus police officers behind the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University.
