USI and VCSO continue partnership

USI Public Safety and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) reaffirmed the nearly five-year-old Public Safety Partnership on Wednesday, March 1.

The agreement, first signed in 2018, gives the campus added security with law enforcement services from the Sheriff’s Office. The renewed contract will go before the Vanderburgh County Commissioners later in March for approval. Sheriff Noah Robinson, along with his deputies, were on campus Wednesday to meet with Ronald S. Rochon, USI President, and University officials to discuss the collaboration and its continuation.

The idea for this partnership originated during the tenure of former Sheriff David Wedding and sprang from the recognition that there was not a full-time law enforcement presence on campus at the time. Conversations about a partnership began between the Sheriff’s Office and Dr. Linda L. M. Bennett, former USI President, and continued with President Rochon. In August 2018, the official announcement of the agreement was made, and the USI Patrol Unit was created within the Sheriff’s Office Operations Division. Those deputies who are assigned to the unit patrol campus on a full-time basis, which is in addition to the patrols and services offered by USI’s Public Safety.

“The deputies who patrol our campus meet all the law enforcement training standards that are held by the Sheriff’s Office,” says Sam Preston, Assistant Director of Public Safety. “They come fully equipped and the offices have experience, so the partnership works out really well in that regard.”

There are many benefits thanks to the working partnership, adds Preston. Not only from the stance of safety across campus but also in allowing Public Safety to focus on other areas that are important—medical response being one of the top priorities.

“If you look at USI as a small community, which we are, when a medical situation occurs we have a medical presence at the scene within three minutes,” he explains. “Because we have this duality, and this partnership with the Sheriff’s Office, we can focus on those types of issues. We can also give focus to other customer service areas.”

Public Safety and VCSO work hand-in-hand on University issues that are dual in nature. For example, a Code of Conduct violation on campus may also be a violation of state law, therefore the two agencies collaborate on the matter. There also is a level of transparency that comes with collaboration. In criminal matters that may involve a USI student or employee, the Sheriff’s Office would investigate the matter.

“It just allows for a separation from the law enforcement side versus the caretaking role that we in Public Safety play,” Preston explains.

Another benefit? Connection to the community at large—VCSO deputies are Evansville residents, and many times, have connections to USI outside of their work. Deputies are USI graduates, former student-athletes or have family members who have attended the University.

“They bring in an engagement to campus that I think is really special,” says Preston. “Along with the benefits we receive, it’s also good networking for the Sheriff’s Office and I think a good recruitment tool for them, too. It’s just a perfect collaboration.”

To learn more about Public Safety and the services provided, visit usi.edu/public-safety.