BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — There are new discussions to ramp up campus safety at Bakersfield College. On Monday, the college hosted several campus forums to gauge staff and student support on hiring sworn police officers.
But the college did not allow 17 News to sit in on the forums, saying they want to keep conversations within the campus community for now. The campus safety department says it’s still very early — there is no timeline, funding or a clear “yes” or “no” on hiring the sworn officers.
“The ability to detain, different arrest powers that come with police officers,” said Executive Director of BC Campus Safety Joe Grubbs.
That is what sworn police officers would add, Grubbs detailed. Those officers can be armed.
B.C. has public safety officers — 20, spread across its three campuses. Campus safety services are available 24/7, 365, Grubbs emphasized.
The school has to wait for Bakersfield police to make arrests or even transport suspects.
Grubbs offered an anecdote of an altercation between a male and female — perhaps physical — in a parking lot. While campus officers intervened, Grubbs said, “He just walked away from us. We weren’t able to detain that individual to investigate whether or not that had been a domestic violence issue.”