FGCU police want to build trust with school’s 15,000 students

We hear from the local sheriffs and police chiefs every day, but we don’t hear a lot from the police department at Florida Gulf Coast University – and that’s OK with its chief.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko spent some time on campus with Chief Steven Moore to find out what the police department does on campus each day.

From running traffic to doing investigations, even acting as a mentor or advisor to a very diverse group of students, Moore does it all with a department of just 21 officers.

The agency has 750 acres and more than 15,000 students to police.

From concerned parents to operating during a pandemic, there’s nothing “small town” about Moore’s police force.

“When a father and mother call about their son having a mental breakdown and he’s dangerous, they’re not calling for you to come kill him,” Moore said.

He said COVID-19 has been “challenging,” which is something Moore knows all about. He has been a police officer for 37 years, moving to FGCU in 2006 after serving as chief for the Naples Police Department.

At a recent shooting on Alico Road, FGCU police officers backed up Lee County sheriff’s deputies, but mostly, they serve on campus.

“We’ll help the students change tires, jump their car, do whatever to help them out, so again it’s just more service-oriented at a university,” Moore said.

That includes encouraging his officers to have positive contacts.

“If there is a soccer game going on or if there is an event on the library lawn, just go be seen.”

That’s to build up trust, and one of his goals is to see every officer trained in de-escalation techniques, something they’ve practiced at a few recent small interactions on campus.

“We’ve had a couple of times where officers have been yelled at this semester for absolutely no reason, driving by a group of people and say have a good evening and the tirade starts, so, the officers know, keep on moving.”

While Moore believes there may be a better way to respond to mental health crises, he feels defunding the police isn’t the answer.

“Who should be responding to that mental health crisis? I don’t think a lot of police would complain if they weren’t the ones that responded to it.”

His team is out there 24/7.

“A campus is a great setting; it’s just a fun place to be,” he said.

The department’s jurisdiction is 1,000 feet beyond campus, but they can assist outside that area, if needed.

Moore said the biggest difference is that they have their own internal discipline system. Underage alcohol possession, marijuana possession and other similar incidents are handled on campus, keeping students out of the courts in most cases.

RELATED LINKS

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IECLEA)

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) University/College Police

Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

FGCU Police Dept.