Chief of Police Laura McCullough shared some of the Office of Public Safety’s reflections of last semester’s events that transpired and some new and continued aspirations for the future.

Eagle Alerts

The Eagle Alert issues of last semester were a topic of discussion. McCullough said there are rules that regulate when and when not to send out an Eagle Alert.

“One of those times where you don’t send out an Eagle Alert is if the [law enforcement agency] that’s working the incident feels like releasing information will hinder their investigation or hinder what they’re working,” McCullough said. 

The chief said this past semester had instances when the agency required information to be held.

In the future if this event were to occur again, McCullough would like to put out some form of information to protect students while upholding the confidence of agencies. 

Goals 

GS PD plans to set new goals this semester. One of them is to acquire more participation with the Livesafe App.

“This is a really good safety app,” McCullough said. “We’ve seen some participation, but I’d like to see bigger numbers.”

This past fall, the GS PD certified some of its officers to teach Rape Aggression Defense classes (R.A.D). “R.A.D is a program designed specifically for college campuses,” said McCullough. “Instead of being a program that’s heavy in martial arts tactics, they are very common sense, easy to learn, easy to remember tactics.”

GS PD has had R.A.D instructors in the past, but they have either left or their schedules prevented them from teaching.

GS PD will also continue active shooter classes that began last fall. “Our crime prevention coordinator is regularly teaching active shooter classes at the Theater in the Russell Union once every two weeks,” McCullough said. The classes are free to all students. 

“We’re hoping we’re in the process of developing a citizen’s police academy for student, faculty and staff,” McCullough said. 

The citizen’s police academy aims to give an inside look on what GS PD’s job entails. The program is planned to begin this fall.

Since prior to the winter break, the Statesboro Police Department and the GS PD have been working on a joint task force where they’re concentrating efforts in areas where GS saw issues and concerns last semester right around campus. Chief McCullough calls it “an extra layer of protection,” and hopes that this collaboration will cut down violent incidents.