Campus Safety Officers, or CSOs, are the law enforcement that SLCC students are most likely to see and engage with on campus.
One officer spoke on how and why he enjoys working on the college campus.
“I’ve worked on the streets, and I could go back to working on the streets,” said Danny Hughes, a CSO at South City Campus. “But I love working on a campus.”
Hughes believes he can make a difference and be a positive influence in students’ lives.
“It’s more personal, to interact with students as they are starting a new life. I want to be someone of authority who can guide them,” Hughes said.
CSOs are often in their offices on campus or on foot patrol. This routine makes them a recognizable part of the SLCC community — something that Hughes accepted as part of his role as a CSO.
“I’m a people person,” Hughes said, adding that he wishes to build relationships and be approachable as a campus safety officer.
Hughes believes it is important to build bonds with the students, faculty and staff, and that a community where people know and trust one another is a safer place.
“Safety is the first priority,” Hughes said.
Hughes carries out his department’s mission — as described by Deputy Director of Public Safety Andy Campbell — to educate more than enforce, and to serve over discipline.
Hughes discussed how he has guided people to the services they needed such as food banks or counseling. For example, Hughes and other officers in his department have driven people to shelters.
“We have had students who were living at the shelter,” Hughes said.
CSOs are “uniformed but not sworn.” They look like police, but they do not carry firearms and have no power to arrest. In contrast, sworn officers carry badges and guns and have the power to arrest.
Sworn officers have completed formal police training and taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and local laws. Utah Highway Patrol troopers and the heads of SLCC’s Campus Safety Department, Andy Campbell and Tiffany Blair, are sworn officers.
CSOs, however, are more than security guards. They are trained in the Clery Act, which governs security on campuses; HIPAA, which protects an individual’s privacy; Title IX, which ensures equal treatment for women; and emergency procedures, from first aid to earthquakes. CSOs have other skills in common emergencies such as jumpstarting a car or breaking into a car with the keys locked inside.
Hughes is ready to help students who may find themselves in these situations and emergencies.
“I’d be glad to [help],” Hughes said. “That’s what we are here for — customer service.”
