There was no hesitation last week on the part of London Police Chief Murray Faulkner in renewing a Memorandum of Agreement with Western’s Campus Community Police Service (CCPS).
Gitta Kulczycki, Vice-President (Resources & Operations) at Western, and London Police Services Board chairperson Ab Chahbar renew a policing agreement between the city and university, while Campus Community Police Service Director Elgin Austen looks on.
“If the University of Western Ontario police did not exist, it doesn’t mean the campus or its problems are going to go away. They are then my problems,” says Faulkner of the agreement, which identifies authority delegated by London Police to Campus Police.
“So I thank Western for understanding the importance of security on campus and that they budget for that, with a great deal of time and resources spent towards the security of their students.”
He wonders what would happen to the London Police budget if they were required to patrol the campus year round.
“We are lucky in that extent,” adds Faulkner. “I may from time to time talk about the misbehavioiur of the students, but the campus security issue has never been a concern, knowing they are very well trained and very well supervised.”
Gitta Kulczycki, Vice-President (Resources & Operations), was on hand at the Sept. 17 London Police Services Board meeting, where she and board chairperson Ab Chahbar signed the agreement between the police board and Western’s Board of Governors.
“On an ongoing basis, I’m very grateful for the partnership we have with London Police,” says Kulczycki. “It makes our service that much stronger.”
Board member and London mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best says it has made a tremendous difference to London police to have the working relationship with campus police.
“And I think for the students, it helps them to know that the police are out there on a regular basis, and that if they need help they can go to them and not necessarily have to call our police service,” says DeCicco-Best. “It’s a great partnership that has been exceptional and very successful.”
Along with renewing the agreement, London Police lauded CCPS for earning international accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, which examines all aspects of the campus police’s policy and procedures, management, operations and support services.
While 17 U.S. colleges and universities have IACLEA accreditation, Western is the first in Canada, with the University of Windsor currently working toward accreditation.
“In some jurisdictions there is controversy over special constable status (at universities and colleges), and I’m pleased this board supported that they remain University of Western Ontario police,” says Faulkner. “And as such, they have taken their credentials to a higher level. This is an accreditation that many major police services find difficult in attaining, but this small group of officers have attained it for their service, so it is very prestigious.”
CCPS Director Elgin Austen says the almost four-year process to received accreditation was a team effort.
“At the end of it all, we felt it was an important thing to have, in order to have the confidence of the university and the community that we were at a high standard in performance and service provided. It was no small task and reflects back on our officers.”