Public Safety offers more than campus patrol

While the Public Safety department works mostly to provide a safe campus, it offers additional useful help that might go unnoticed by students, such as first aid and other emergency services.

Gale Blessing, MHCC director of safety and security, described the assistance that campus safety officers can provide to students.

They are trained in a variety of law enforcement related procedures, in administering CPR and use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

For persons who don’t feel safe walking to class late at night or who perhaps fear unsavory characters, Public Safety offers safety escorts to lead them from building to building or to their vehicle.

Public Safety staff is available to meet with individual students and employees to discuss specific safety concerns on campus, and to develop a personal safety plan.

This includes persons who have obtained restraining or stalking orders.

Students locked out of their car or who find a dead battery may call Public Safety to come start the battery or unlock the vehicle.

Public Safety officers are a uniformed presence on the Gresham campus 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Public Safety has several goals and plans for improvement, Blessing said. The department hopes to raise safety awareness for students and employees with targeted newspaper articles, emails, signage and flyers aimed at reducing theft. It wants to expand information on its web page, including safety tips, and is looking to add more security cameras around campus.

The department also offers student internships and student project options, Blessing said. These opportunities benefit both the students and the college, she said.

The department continues to collaborate with Gresham police and fire departments, the FBI and other local law enforcement agencies to respond to emergencies, she said.

To call Public Service for non-emergencies, dial 503-491-7310.

For emergencies, call 503-491-7911.

For a list of services or questions, go to www.mhcc.edu and look for crime awareness/campus security, listed under “student services.”