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<DOCID>Administrative_Council.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Liz Sippl</AUTHOR>
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The Administrative Council met on Wednesday, December 6, to discuss a proposal that, according to Bill Whitman, would change Public Safety, giving it the opportunity to have commissioned police officers.  The meeting, which was only open to faculty and staff, was held to discuss some of the pros, cons, and issues related to the proposal, as well as to get faculty and staff input.  LSSU is Michigans only public university that does not have commissioned police officers; currently, Soo PD and other local law enforcement agencies provide on-campus support.   

	As Whitman explained, the proposal will allow LSSU to proved the same level of safety as other universities; people on campus will have to comply with public safety officer instructions; officers will be able to use university sanctions in conjunction with or instead of arrest; and crimes not considered a priority for Soo PD, such as vandalism on campus, will be investigated fully by public safety officers.  Another benefit of the proposal would be public safetys ability to take control of situations before Soo PD arrives, if they arrive at all.  Whitman was alluding to instances when the police department didnt respond to public safetys request for officers.  Some of the cons of the proposal are the misrepresentation that we need more public safety officers because of crime and other problems.  This is not the case at all; in fact, LSSU is the safest institution Ive worked at.  There will be increased expenditures as officers are trained, however, training is needed regardless; there will be resistance from the community; and there may be liability issues that need to be worked out.

	After Whitmans presentation, the floor was opened up for discussion.  The first question asked shouldnt the focus initially deal with other issues related to the professionalism and attitude of officers?  Whitman explained that those issues are currently being dealt with and because the certification process will take time, those issues will no longer be a problem.  There were several questions asking when training would start and Whitman answered that officer training would start as soon as possible but he cant put a time limit on how long itll take.  When asked what the ballpark figure for certification and extra yearly cost, Whitman said I believe the additional yearly cost will be minimal.  The additional cost would be salaries but doing this wouldnt require additional personnel.  As far as cost for certification, $100,000 is a reasonable figure.  One of the final questions asked who is proposing this and who is supporting the proposal and Whitman said that hes proposing the change and the administration is supporting the process.  Two points that Whitman reinforced were Im not going to say that if this doesnt happen, bad things will happen.  Those things may happen regardless and Id prefer to be able to handle it. He also stated that Were not providing the level of service I feel our students and community deserve.

These meetings are a part of the exploration of the topic, stated Whitman, and there will be more meetings with other campus groups and students to discuss this topic.

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