NAIT Protective Services are our very own men and women in uniform on campus. Often erroneously called “security,” Protective Services serves both students and staff. Not only is NAIT Protective Services stepping up their enforcement duties, they are also expanding their prevention and education work, as the department recently announced its new Community Liaison program.
Protective Services’ primary duties are to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone on campus. Serving as first responders, these sworn Peace Officers respond to a range of calls from suspicious persons, thefts, 911 emergencies to physical altercations in and around campus. With the authority to hand out provincial and municipal tickets, they also regulate parking on campus and enforce traffic regulations. This is not the sole duty of the staff at NAIT Protective Services, as community outreach is also a focus of the department’s operations.
Certain members of Protective Services will now act as Community Liaison Officers. These officers are tasked with going around campus and interacting with students and staff and increasing the public profile of the department. Although officers already often take time during campus patrols to visit staff offices or talk to students in the hallway, CPO Stephanie Harris and CPO Gina Swan, assigned to the main campus, along with CPO Daniel Knipe stationed at Souch Campus and CPO Margaux Connelly at Patricia Campus, they will focus primarily on community outreach. All of the new Community Liaison Officers will be available to assist staff, students and visitors weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Moving into the modern era, the department also operates its own Twitter account (@NAIT_PS) where they tweet safety tips, traffic conditions, emergency alerts and campus events. Their twitter account also showcases some of their community outreach, as officers interact with students and staff across campus. More importantly, staff assigned as Community Liaison Officers will now focus on providing information, serving as media contacts and giving presentations to groups and at new student orientation.
While this change won’t be affecting the normal deployment of NAIT Protective Services personnel, it is an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about what Protective Services offers on campus. Insp. Craig Skelton explains, “These positions have been established to provide departments and the community at NAIT a better means of working together.” As NAIT’s main campus continues to grow, staff and students will be seeing NAIT Protective Services more often across campus. This is indicative of how inclusive NAIT’s campus will increasingly become, as the campus becomes more integrated and services become more co-ordinated. Staff and students who are interested in learning more about the services provided by NAIT Protective Services can find out more on their website at www.nait.ca/protectiveservices or follow their Twitter account @NAIT_PS. Protective Services does not take complaints via Twitter as their feed is not monitored 24/7.
To report suspicious activity, request a safe-walk or if you have a question or a complaint, contact Protective Services at 780.471.7477. For parking inquiries, contact the parking office at 780.378.6986 or at parking@nait.ca.
Nicolas Brown
Issues Editor
