Glen Holcomb, the new Director of Safety and Security on campus, is doing his best to make sure that his security unit continues to keep the students and faculty of Southern Nazarene University safe and secure.
Holcomb was hired as the Director of Safety and Security in August of 2013. With over a year and a half of experience, Holcomb has begun to keep his security unit accountable to protocol.
SNU Security is responsible for constantly training their staff and staying current with today’s standard of training for University Campus Security Personnel. However, funding limits what security can and cannot do. “I hope to increase funding in my department in the future and be able to have updated equipment, manpower and vehicles,” said Holcomb.
With Holcomb as director, his security unit is held accountable to following policy and procedures. Currently, there are about fourteen security personnel on staff that cover shifts 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, including holidays. There are currently 150 operational video surveillance cameras, and Holcomb is presently adding better quality cameras to the campus.
With the influx of cameras, the security unit is able to see everything and protect faculty, staff, students and visitors. SNU dispatchers have been able to detect a fire alarm going off in the dorm quicker with the help of the cameras, as well as capture crime.
“We have also captured criminal activity on campus and later used that video as a evidence in the prosecution and apprehension of the suspects,” said Holcomb. “I will admit, we do get a lot of laughter out of some of the things students do while in the view of a camera.”
With Holcomb’s 29 years in law enforcement, his experience has curbed the crime that has gone on surrounding the campus.
“Crime statistics show this area has quite a high rate of crime, more than what people think,” said Holcomb.
The security unit has been consistent in updating the campus with information on suspicious activity or crime-related situations.
“When I need everyone’s help locating someone or something, I will email the entire campus,” said Holcomb. “If it is an emergency, Michael Houston and I make an informed decision on what information needs to be released, and we send the information through the SNU Alert system.”
SNU Security hopes the students of SNU know they care through being committed to their careers. Holcomb concludes, “I believe by having good policy and procedures, learning from our mistakes of the past, keeping up with current crime trends and battling it with all of us together on campus, we can make a difference.“
[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_8842.jpg” ] Deanne Brodie-Mends, Staff Contributor
She is majoring in Mass Communication with a minor in English. She enjoys writing, performing spoken word, attending Church, and spending quality time with friends and family. She describes herself as outgoing and enjoys making people smile. [/author]