University police use 'high-tech' electronics in law enforcement
Katie Collins, '12 | Staff Reporter
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: News
|
Every MSC officer is a sworn police officer. D'Alessandro says the officers have, "the same powers as the New York State Police, the Oneida County Sheriff's Department, Madison County Sheriff's Department, any other law enforcement; any other police officer in the state of New York." MSC's officers have jurisdiction on every SUNY campus and if they witness a felony, anywhere in New York, D'Alessandro says the officers can take appropriate action. "We're full fledged police officers," he adds.
To become a University Police Officer, a person must be at least 21 years of age, a United States citizen and a resident of New York State. The candidate must have completed 60 college credit hours, or two years of active military service with an honorable discharge and 30 credit hours. Officers must have a valid New York State driver's license and have passed the written civil service exam. D'Alessandro says officers must pass various examinations and tests, as well. After all of those tests, officers must go through about 23 weeks of training at a basic course for police officers. Before the potential officers receive their certificates, they must finish 37 weeks of on-the-job training.
D'Alessandro says his officers choose to work at MSC because, "some of the officers live in the area, have grown up in the area; they like this area." Some of the officers are actually graduates of MSC. D'Alessandro says Morrisville is a great place to raise a family in central New York. Most of the officers worked in the law field in various parts of the state prior to coming to campus. "Some were in security level with SUNY, others worked in psychiatric institutions," D'Alessandro says. Some of the officers were conservation officers in other states, as well as police officers.
Continuous amounts of training make the officers more than just security guards. Some of MSC's officers have traveled as far as California for training. D'Alessandro says, "I strive to get each officer, if possible, at least 25 hours of in-service training a year." The officers receive what D'Alessandro calls, "standard in-service firearms training," twice a year. Different officers specialize in different areas of the field, and D'Alessandro says, "each officer knows the high-points in the other officers, so they can play off of, utilize the other officers to help out."