Office C106 has long been the Office of Sustainability, providing students with transportation resources like BC RideMatch. Recently, the Student Programs and Administrative Services decided to share C106 with Public Safety, “so that Public Safety may better reach and provide services for our student and faculty bodies,” said Tommy Vu, director of the Department of Public Safety. “We are not switching locations,” emphasized Vu, “we are sharing the space with Transportation and Sustainability. Adding Public Safety’s presence to the C106 location allows us the opportunity to assist the campus community from a more centrally located position.”
The new Public Safety office is a satellite site, Amy Duong, support staff at the Public Safety Office explained. “Satellite sites normally provide most, if not all of the same functionality of primary sites. In our case, any officer who operates out of that location will be able to provide all the same services from that office as out officers located within our main office, with the exception of returning lost and found items,” said Vu. The primary office of the Public Safety will continue to be in K100, and the physical lost and found items will remain in the secure area at K100.
There will be no changes to the services provided by the Transportation Office. “As an extension of the Public Safety Department, officers sitting in C106 will be able to render the same assistance to students or visitors that is available in our main office. There is a phone on the counter of C106 and it is “programmed to reach an officer on duty at all hours,” said Vu. Simply lifting the handset and pressing the button labeled “Security” will automatically connect the caller to an officer on duty, who will be able to answer any questions or concerns about the Public Safety Department and the services they offer. The phone is intended for non-emergency situations only. Either the parking manager or one of the public safety officers on duty will be available at the desk during various times throughout the day to provide assistance to students and staff.
The purpose of the office addition is so that the Public Safety Department will be able to extend its visibility and provide an easier-to-reach presence within one of the busiest and most highly populated areas on campus.” There will be forms regarding parking and various other things available at the C106 office as well.
The Transportation and Public Safety Office is currently in the process of getting everything set up. Once the changes have been completed, they will advertise the new services in their monthly newsletter and possibly on the Public Safety website to inform students of the new location. They “are actively in the process of working out how to best situate a Public Safety post within the Transportation office area. Though the phone on the C106 counter is currently in service.
The Public Safety Officers “have been providing me with positive feedback. The opportunity to have a station near the center of campus and closer to the busiest areas is a very good thing,” said Vu. The new office is still a pilot program in an effort to increase visibility and outreach, so it is not permanent at the moment.
The Transportation Office will continue to provide students and staff with the same services and that they look forward to working with the Public Safety Department, said Patrick Green, program manager of the Office of Sustainability.