The
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light August 26, 2013
NEWS
New Public Safety building opens
Move makes collaboration easier between entities
Brandi Bottalico/ The Towerlight
The Public Safety building is located across fromTowson University’s main entrance onTowsontown
Boulevard. Towson Police Department, Environmental Health and Safety, emergency preparedness and
access control are all housed in the new Public Safety building.
BRANDI BOTTALICO
News Editor
@brandibot
Col. Joe Herring remembers
when he started at Towson that
the department's holding cell,
supervisor's center and roll call
were all housed in a 10 x 10 room.
In early May, TUPD moved to
the new Public Safety Building
across from the main entrance of
the University.
The 25,000-square-foot facility
not only provides more space for
the department than the General
Services building it was previously
in, but it also puts several other
safety entities in the same build¬
ing, making collaboration easier.
The Environmental Health and
Safety, emergency preparedness,
security access control and the
police department are all under
the same roof now.
“It was a process and a proj¬
ect," Herring, Towson University
Police Department Deputy Chief
of Police, said. “It's a much more
fluid operation."
The new building also has
secure doors, fingerprinting tech¬
nology, interrogation rooms with
audio and visual equipment, sur¬
veillance cameras, prisoner hold¬
ing cells, a sally port so detainees
can be brought into the building
without public identification, and
more convenient storage, he said.
“It has all the functions we did
before, we just did them in ad
hoc facilities," he said. “For our
department it’s important resourc¬
es are more accessible to me."
The communications center is
still in the old public safety build¬
ing and will be moved to the new
location in about 18-24 months,
Herring said.
The communications center cur¬
rently operates their radios on a
platform that is only the Towson
area. When it is moved they will be
on the state radio system and able
to communicate state-wide.
It means the agency is
conforming to the best
practices and
standards. This
building certainly made
the accreditation
process much easier.
JOE HERRING
TUPD Deputy Chief of Police
Another service that is not yet
in the new building is the prisoner
processing.
As of now they still process
prisoners in the General Services
building because they are waiting
on a new electronic fingerprinting
station.
TUPD is currently pursuing
an advanced accreditation from
CALEA, the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies.
“It means the agency is con¬
forming to the best practices and
standards," he said. “This building
certainly made the accreditation
process much easier."
The accreditation process
requires a self-assessment, on-site
assessment, commission review
and decision and maintaining
compliance and reaccreditation
during its three-year cycle.
The standards that are to be
met are policy and procedures,
administration, operations and
support services.
The department had its on-site
assessment at the beginning of
August and are awaiting the hear¬
ing on the decision of accredita¬
tion on Nov. 16.
"The on site went very well,"
Herring said. "It was a very posi¬
tive exit interview with the two
accreditation people who were
here."
Two robberies occur in
same night, off-campus
BRANDI BOTTALICO
News Editor
@brandibot
Two off-campus robberies occurred
on Wednesday, Aug. 20 within min¬
utes of each other.
In the first robbery the suspects,
described as two African-American
males between 17 and 18 years-old,
approached two females from behind
on York Road around 9 p.m.
One of the suspects grabbed one of
the victims, reached into her pocket
and took her cell phone. Both sus¬
pects then ran south on York Road.
One subject was wearing a purple
shirt and white shorts and the other
was wearing a dark shirt and dark
pants.
Around the same time, Towson
University Police received information
about an attempted robbery on Bosley
Avenue near Chesapeake Avenue.
A non-affiliate female was walking
on Bosley Avenue when two subjects
approached her. One attempted to
grab her phone but was unable to take
it. The subjects then ran off.
The only subject she was able to
describe was an African-American
male between 16 and 20 years-old,
with an afro, wearing a white tank top
and shorts.
Neither of the robberies reported
weapons or injuries.
A week before, on Aug. 13, an
armed robbery occurred and two sus¬
pects displayed a handgun to take
a female jogger's iPod. The robbery
occurred around 9:30 p.m. at West
Chesapeake Avenue and Burnbrae
Road.
Only one suspect could be identi¬
fied. He is described as an African-
American male, 6 foot to 6 foot 5
inches tall, with a large build, wearing
a long black t-shirt.
The suspects were driving a dark
blue or black older model four-door
sedan.
Anyone who witnessed the crime
or has information about it is asked to
contact the Towson University Police
Department at 410-704-2134 or The
Baltimore County Police Department
at 410-887-2361.
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