Making the rounds at PC’s main campus means patrolling 72 acres of property and covering a parking area that encompasses approximately 500 parking spaces, with as many as 1,200 students, faculty, and staff during peak times. Daunting? Not at all! Peninsula College Campus Safety considers this type of work an exciting and fulfilling challenge!
College is what you make it at PC. Whether you’re beginning your college career, or are returning to school, you can become overwhelmed with the vast opportunities that are available to you, and Campus Safety wants to give you one less thing to worry about. Why? Because we consider that our job, and the biggest thing you can do is stay informed!
The Campus Safety Department is made up of two fulltime officers, two part-time officers, and one parking enforcement officer. Our department doesn’t focus on SECURITY but rather SAFETY, that’s one of the biggest reasons we changed our name from Campus Security to Campus Safety. We go to great lengths to secure our campus day and night, and we take care of our campus community by being pro-active and involved with the student body. The best way we can serve our students is by being there for them. Lock your keys in your car? We’ve got you covered. Need assistance with a dead battery? We’re there for you. Want to learn how you can be safe on our campus? We have a myriad of resources for you to access!
Security Officers Marty Martinez & Alec Risk
A moment that made Campus Safety shine came during winter quarter 2011 when an employee suffered a massive heart attack in Keegan Hall just after reporting to work. That moment will last in our memories as an illustration of perfect timing in emergency response. After the PC employee collapsed in an unwitnessed heart attack, a student happened to be in the area, found the employee unresponsive and with quick thinking, alerted staff and ran to the Campus Safety Office to notify us of the situation. When Campus Safety arrived to the scene, an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was applied to the employee and CPR was administered. Soon after, medics arrived to the campus and transported the patient to the hospital. This event happened on a Friday, and the employee was making phone calls from his hospital bed by Sunday!
Campus Safety at Peninsula College utilizes an emergency notification system to notify the PC community of emergencies and/or school closures due to inclement weather, called PC Alert Me. Students are automatically entered into this system after registering with the school. Fortunately for us, we have not yet had to use this system for an emergency notification. Still, we want our students to be aware of this system in the event that a message was ever sent out. We are constantly looking at new ways to keep the PC community informed and safe. We have tested this system during quarterly drills, and it’s a nice tool to have in our back pockets!
Ultimately, we want new students to understand this is a safe college, and that the Campus Safety staff is approachable and friendly. We maintain an active relationship with local law enforcement and often invite them to the campus so people understand their presence doesn’t always indicate a problem. Rather, this teaches the campus community that we have local officers who believe in community policing. We encourage our students to program the Campus Safety phone number into their cell phones, and to visit the Campus Safety page located on the Peninsula College website to learn more about us.
Visit our page at http://www.pencol.edu/services/campus-safety or call (360)417-6559 to reach Campus Safety.
About the Author
Marty Martinez moved to Port Angeles from Southern California in 1990 and began work for Peninsula College in September of 1997. Marty graduated from the Reserve Law Enforcement Academy through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission in 1999 and has continued to enhance the Campus Safety Department and Emergency Preparedness at PC.
In his free time Marty enjoys restoring vintage cars, writing music, and spending time with his wife Sarah and five sons.
