Madelain Tigano
The Corsair
Pensacola Junior College has funded a safe learning community for 60 years, and in 1996 it established it’s very own police department.
PJC, Tallahassee Community College, and Santé Fe Community College are the only community colleges in Florida to have their own police departments. Today, PJC’s police department is home to more than 18 employees.
The department holds a fully trained and certified staff, and receives the same training that local law enforcement departments receive. They also have the same arresting rights that local agencies have. Because of the locations of the campuses in Pensacola, Warrington and Milton, the officers have to know ordinances in three different jurisdictions – Santa Rosa, Escambia and Pensacola.
The PJC police department takes the lead in crimes occurring on campus such as the recent sexual assault. Their jurisdiction is limited to the campuses; however they also respond to traffic accidents and other mutual assistance calls on streets adjacent to the campus. Local law enforcement is always there for back up on campus.
“Whatever the measure is, we will do our jobs the correct way,” said Officer Kim Cooper, who works at the Warrington campus. “We are out there to protect the students, faculty and teachers, so PJC is a safe college and community.”
Cooper has worked for the PJC police department for four years. She enjoys her job and believes the students are well behaved. She said most issues have dealt with the public coming onto campus for various student community practices, such as the dental department’s teeth cleaning.
“I am able to respond to any call, even if it’s during my off hours,” said Officer Chris Phillips, 27, a Pensacola Campus officer. Phillips lives on the Pensacola campus and works the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift Monday through Friday. On the weekends, he does a few extra patrols to ensure safety.
The PJC police can ticket for “speeding too fast for conditions” as a state citation and issue parking tickets. The parking tickets are $10, and increase to $15 after 30 days. Student will not be able to get their transcripts until all tickets are paid.
Student assistants also help the PJC police in writing parking tickets and by locking up the college’s doors at the end of the day.
“The money that we make off of student parking tickets doesn’t go to the police department,” said Panici. “It goes into a college scholarship fund, so the students are actually getting their money back.”
He enjoys the people around campus and the occasional “free food” during campus events.
Phillips has also been known to help those students who are in need of a friend. While on a recent patrol, he saw a student on campus he recognized that had attempted suicide. He stopped to ask how the student was doing.
Lt. Hank Shirah, 60, is a retired Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputy, former PJC student, and now rookie at the PJC police department. He started working for PJC this past January at the adult high school as the resource officer.
“Working in a high school environment and coming into contact with mostly teenagers every day is a challenge,” Shirah said. “It’s an education for me and keeps me fresh… I was always a people person.”
Starting pay as a city officer is about $29,000 a year. PJC’s officers get, on estimate, $9,000 less than that a year.
Panici served 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, then graduated from George Stone Academy and was hired at PJC. Not only does he work for the police department on campus, he is also a student furthering his education. He plans to become a nurse.
When a suspect is taken in by the PJC police, he or she is then held in the department’s officer room until picked up the city police for arrest authority. There’s no holding cell in Building 5.
But most of the crimes the officers see are routine traffic issues.
“Many students think they don’t have to stop at a stop sign, because we are a college,” said Officer Paul Panici, at Pensacola. “No, it’s a real stop sign. You have to stop.”
Editor’s Note: Corsair editors Madelain Tigano and Danica Spears rode with the PJC Police Department to gain a first-hand perspective of campus police duties.