WSCC launching campus police force

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Former Cullman County Sheriff Tyler Roden was hired earlier this year by Wallace State Community College to launch the school’s new police force. The campus police received a major boost recently thanks to the nearby Cullman Police Department, which donated two surplused patrol cars, seen at left, to the new force. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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August 7, 2012

WSCC launching campus police force

Cullman PD donates 2 cars to WSCC security

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Tue Aug 07, 2012, 01:10 PM CDT

HANCEVILLE — Longtime former Cullman County Sheriff Tyler Roden knows a thing or two about running a law enforcement agency. Now, he’s learning how to build one.

Roden was hired earlier this year by Wallace State Community College to launch the school’s new police force, after spending much of 2011 in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army to train soldiers in battlefield enforcement and detainment protocols. Before that, he spent more than a decade as sheriff of Cullman County.

Though he’s only been on the job a few months at Wallace, the campus police received a major boost recently thanks to the nearby Cullman Police Department, which donated two surplused patrol cars to the new force.

“It’s exciting that they’re starting their own police department, and all the departments in Cullman County work so well together, so we’re glad to help,” Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said.

The cars are just a small part of the larger puzzle, but Roden said it gives his office a foundation to build on.

“The cars are a tremendous help, and though they had a lot of mileage for the city department, we won’t be putting nearly as many miles on them at the campus, so they should still last us a long time,” he said.

Once in operation, the Wallace State police department will be the newest law enforcement agency in the county, joining the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office, Cullman Police Department and Hanceville Police Department. Roden said the department will employ eight officers, including himself — and they will have the authority to arrest those found breaking the law, just like any other law enforcement officer.

The new police force also means an end to the college’s 2008 contract with the sheriff’s office to provide five deputies to help patrol the campus.

“The agreement with the sheriff’s office has worked well, but we think that by establishing this on campus, there shouldn’t be any breaks in continuity,” Roden said. “We’ll be able to patrol and monitor things 24/7 on campus.”

Roden said traffic issues and motorist assistance calls make up the brunt of current issues on campus, and he hopes the presence of officers around the clock will stop most problems before they begin. Once hired, officers will also be trained on campus-specific disaster response plans, in case any major problems ever occur at the campus.

Not counting potential start-up costs for equipment, Roden said the program should be able to function for approximately the same cost as the existing contract with the sheriff’s office.

“Everything is going very smoothly, and we’ve been able to establish what we need to establish,” Roden said. “We’re going through the details now, from what the uniforms will be, down to the striping on the cars. We’re working to establish a budget right now.”

Considering the campus’ growth in recent years, WSCC President Vicki Hawsey said she believes the time was right for the college to handle its own security on a larger scale.

“As we move to establish a campus police department, increasing vigilance for our growing campus population of 7,500 disparate people while continuing to work in cooperation with local law enforcement, we are especially thankful to the Cullman Police Department and Chief Culpepper for helping this plan to come to fruition,” she said.

* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

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WSCC launching campus police force

Cullman PD donates 2 cars to WSCC security

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