Education

One Mass. college has eliminated its entire police force

Dean College will employ a private security firm rather than campus police officers. Photo courtesy of Dean Coillege

By Allison Pohle @AllisonPohle

December 15, 2015

2 minutes to read

The same week Northeastern University announced it would arm its campus police force with semiautomatic rifles in case of emergency, another Massachusetts college decided to eliminate campus police officers altogether.

Dean College, a small liberal arts school in Franklin, Mass., notified its 18-person police force December 7 that their positions would be terminated December 18 and replaced by staff from a private security firm. The officers had just announced their plan to unionize, and, in accordance with federal law, their attorney Scott Dunlap said he notified the college’s president, Paula Rooney, of this intent at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4.

But on Monday, Dec. 7, the officers received an email that they’d be terminated December 18. TeamOps, the security firm, would assume operations the same day, Dunlap said.

“It’s clear the college is afraid of the organization of police officers,’’ he said. “Having a union just means they want to improve working conditions in a collective setting.’’

The college said in a statement the transition has been planned for several months, and the date was chosen because the winter semester transition is the least disruptive to students.

“Twentieth century security strategies and tactics no longer work in the 21st century,’’ Rooney said in a statement. “The challenges we face to provide a safe environment for our students have continued to evolve over the past several years, and we feel that TeamOps is the best choice to meet those challenges head on. The firm’s expertise is unmatched.’’

The statement also said TeamOps provides security for the New England Patriots, as well as for Harvard University and Boston College. The TeamOps website, however, explains that its campus services are for sporting events and concerts, not for day-to-day operations. Both Harvard and BC have their own campus police forces.

Because TeamOps employees don’t have police powers, the firm will refer all incidents to Franklin police.

TeamOps did not respond to a request for comment from Boston.com about its role with Dean College.

In response to the terminations, Dunlap filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday, Dec. 8, so the board could determine whether the college illegally interfered with the organization of a union. He said a decision is expected in the coming weeks, and the issue could end up going to federal court.

But, no matter when the decision comes, the police officers will be terminated Friday, Dunlap said.

“A lot of students had personal relationships with these officers, and knew them on a first name basis,’’ he said. “Campus officers use an awful lot of discretion and know that kids may make mistakes, so they try to make any situation into a learning experience first. It’ll be a different climate when contract security comes in.’’