[hr]Jackson State University Police Department has a new substation located on the lower level of the H.T. Sampson Library to allow public safety officers to focus on community policing and better serve faculty, staff and students in a more centralized location.
Even with the new location, Chief Thomas Albright expressed that the main location is still available, too, for many of the same services. He also celebrated the opening of the substation with a catered reception for campus officers.
“Officers work really hard and perform a lot of overtime. This is one of the ways that I can show them that I appreciate their efforts. Oftentimes, people get called into the office to handle a lot of negative incidents. With this expansion and reception, I just wanted to put a positive spin on things,” Albright said.
JSU’s top cop also explained that “this is an excellent location, and we’re going to be doing a lot of great things with students. This station will allow us to meet students where they are.”
Captain Janet Samuel is equally thrilled about the new location, which she and another co-worker spotted a year ago as a potential place to expand.
“Public Safety has had a storage room in the lower level of the library for quite some time. Last year, a co-worker and I noticed there were a lot of empty spaces. We began planning and talking to others such as Facilities and Construction Management and top personnel to get their consensus and to see if our idea for a new space would work. Eventually, we all made it happen,” she said.
[pullquote align=”right”]”This is an excellent location, and we’re going to be doing a lot of great things with students. This station will allow us to meet students where they are.” — Chief Thomas Albright[/pullquote]Also, Samuel said, “While the main station is still available for everyone, we want faculty, staff and students to know that we’re accessible here, too. Incident reports will be done in the substation. If there’s an emergency, we still encourage everyone to dial 601-979-2580.”
Samuel notes one change, however: “Lost and found” will be in the new location. And, Albright indicated that all lieutenants are stationed in the new location as well. However, the command staff still will be in the main building.
Meanwhile, Albright said more great things are on the horizon.
“We’re even considering forming an intramural basketball team to play alongside students. Also, there will be more presentations in residence halls to interact with students about public safety and other matters. In general, we’re moving toward more community policing,” Albright said.