by Mason Gentry
Parkland College is a beautiful campus full of wonderful students, faculty and staff. There are thousands of these community members who circulate throughout the campus on a weekly basis, so the existence of public safety is paramount to the smoothness at which the college operates. Having served 26 years as an Illinois State Police Officer, the Chief of Police and Director of Public safety, Chief Colbrook has an incredible amount of experience in the realm of policing and public safety. His words of wisdom should be heard by all members of the Parkland community as well as the Champaign-Urbana community at large.
Many students may not realize that Parkland College receives safety and protection from an independent police department. When asked about his job as Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety at Parkland College, Chief Colbrook explained that “…we run a full-fledged police department, we’ve got the same police powers as any other police agency in Illinois. We have, exactly, the same training or more.” This police department is fully equipped with 15 sworn officers, including Chief Colbrook himself, one Lieutenant, three Sergeants and 10 officers. At every minute of every day, there is a police presence at Parkland College. The police officers can be seen anywhere on campus at any time which is intended to give a sense of safety and security to the students and faculty. Building relationships between the Parkland community and its sworn officers is a mission that the department deems to be particularly valuable. As Chief Colbrook expressed, “We want people to get to know us and we want to get to know them and to be able to build that trust amongst one another.”
In today’s social climate, one of the most relevant threats seems to be that of an armed intruder whose intention is to do harm to the masses. While these events are relatively rare compared to other crime, their seriousness is unrivalled. It’s unfortunate that we must consider domestic terror a genuine threat but, as Chief Colbrook said, “it’s almost as if it’s been woven into the fabric of our daily lives.” When you are in a public area, especially Parkland, always be prepared for actions of survival. Chief Colbrook stressed that the number one thing to do is have a personal plan which is dynamic and relative to exactly where you are, what time you are there and the people around you. It is important to never let your guard down. When you walk around campus to your classes, to and from your car or when leaving your house, always be aware of your surroundings and possible routes of escape or positions to take cover. When you walk around campus, identify stairwells, exits and escapes so that in the event of an attack, your options are clear and well composed. At any moment in time, you should constantly ask yourself, ‘if something happens, what am I going to do?’
The less serious threats happen much more frequently than you might think. At any moment your car or personal belongings are unsupervised, they are at risk of theft. In fact, the City of Champaign, partnered with crimemapping.com lists that, together, vehicle theft and larceny are responsible for over half of crime in Champaign, roughly 57 percent. Chief Colbrook would like to leave readers with one last piece of advice, as a matter of personal wellbeing, all community members should be attentive of their belongings in order to not fall victim to these high frequency crimes.
If you have any questions about safety protocol or general inquiries for the public safety team, please contact Parkland Public Safety at publicsafety@parkland.edu or 217/351-2369.
