Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

About Us

Mission Statement

The mission of the Portland Community College Department of Public Safety is to promote a safe educational environment in partnership with the community by providing exceptional public safety services through professionalism and dependability.

Promoting a safe educational environment means maintaining a visible presence on campus properties, strengthening relationships with college staff, students and visitors to using incident data to recognize and respond to trends. It includes not only the acts of reporting, investigation and warnings, but also educating the community about their rights and responsibilities

In partnership with the community means being a full and active partner with the college, surrounding neighborhoods and local public safety agencies, and assisting campus staff, students and visitors in a knowledgeable manner.

Providing exceptional public safety services means treating others the way you want to be treated.

Professionalism is the foundation of our department and it means conscientious, competent and ethical public safety service.

Dependability means that we maintain complete integrity, honesty and accountability and that we serve with dedication and effectiveness.

Value Statement

The Portland Community College Department of Public Safety is committed to RISE to all challenges, RISE above expectations and RISE to ever higher levels of professionalism.

The organizational values of the Department of Public Safety are (RISE):

Respect means to continually show due regard, consideration and compassion to all.

Integrity means a strict adherence to moral and ethical principles, accountability and unwavering honesty.

Service means to perform all duties with knowledge, competence, enthusiasm and pride.

Excellence means to provide superior public safety services with continuous improvement and efficiency.

Public Safety Staff

See our Organizational chart for more details.

  • Public Safety Director: The director of public safety plans, organizes, and directs the operations of our district wide public safety department. The public safety department is also responsible for emergency preparedness and the director oversees the management of this program as well as all other disciplines in the department.
  • Campus Sergeants: Sergeants serve as the lead public safety contact on campuses. Sergeants oversee the daily operations at their assigned campuses, coordinating schedules, reviewing reports and serving as a first responder to major campus incidents.
  • Public Safety Officers: Officers make up the largest population of Department personnel. Public Safety Officers have authority to enforce college policies and regulations, and may make physical custody arrests for crimes committed in their presence. Officers are supported by the college in the enforcement of all applicable federal, state, city laws and ordinances. Public Safety Officers respond to calls for service originating on property owned and operated by the college. Under Oregon Revised Statute 341.300, the College Board has adopted policies governing policing, control and regulation of traffic on college property. This statute gives Public Safety officers authority as Peace Officers in enforcing regulations adopted by the Board. Officers carry less than lethal defensive tools, including handcuffs, baton and pepper spray, and are certified in First Aid/CPR and the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED). Officers do not carry firearms and are licensed as Private Security Professionals through Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST).
  • Communications Coordinator: The Communications Coordinator manages the daily operations of the Public Safety Communications Center this is includes scheduling of the communications staff and coordination of daily work assignments. The Communications Coordinator serves as the liaison for the Regional Justice Information Network (RegJIN). The Communications Coordinator also oversees our On Campus Emergency Alert System (OCEANS), this is our system that we utilize to make both non-emergency and emergency alerts to the various campuses.
  • Communication Officer: DPS communications officers (dispatchers) are trained to assess the priority of reported incidents, collect necessary information, and dispatch both on-campus and local emergency responders for a variety of public safety related calls. Additionally, communications officers answer general public safety questions. Our communications officers attend a three-week public safety telecommunicator academy at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) in Salem, Oregon. In addition to this, they receive local training on our computer aided dispatch system, two-way radio operation, and the city of Portland Police’s computer aided dispatch system, and the Regional Justice Information Network (RegJIN).
  • Clery Specialist/Coordinator: The Clery Specialist/Coordinator is responsible for Portland Community College’s compliance with the Clery Act and the Drug Free Schools & Communities Act (DFSCA), which include collection of crime data and policy disclosure statements, preparation, publication and dissemination of the Annual Security Report, entry of crime data with U.S. Department of Education, identification, designation and training of Campus Security Authorities, identification of Clery geography, scheduling and work of the Clery Team, preparation of the Biennial Review Report and annual notification for DFSCA.