Instead of going to jail, students who commit minor offenses often are escorted to the office of the dean of students, according to Sgt. Jess Soto, BC campus police chief.
That’s a big change from what many police officers experience during a typical day. Escorting students to the dean instead of arresting them is one example of how minor crimes are handled in college environment.
“That hasn’t come up,” according to Senior Officer John Jamison, a Bakersfield Police officer assigned to patrol the college alongside campus police.
Jamison is the only armed officer on campus since Kern Community College District officials don’t allow campus police to carry guns.
BC’s virtually crime-free environment is a welcome change for the 12-year law enforcement officer.
Since his arrival in early October, the transition from patrolling the streets to policing the campus has been a welcome one.
“When I was assigned, I was excited about it,” Jamison said, who’s been with BPD since 1994. “It’s a different sense of law enforcement. There’s virtually no crime on the campus. Just the sheer number of calls that a BPD officer gets, it’s not like that here.”
Jamison said he liked the change from being out on the street, taking calls. He now gets a chance to do community policing in an educational environment.
“When you’re out on the street, you’re going from call to call,” Jamison said. “It’s different and not as fast-paced as working the street. When I got here, I was treated with great respect. Before my car was my desk, now I’ve got an office with a desk.”
According to Soto, it’s been the practice of campus police to escort students who commit minor crimes and disruptions to the dean’s office.
“We’re not in the process of getting rid of students,” Soto said. “If it’s no injury and it’s very minute, we’ll handle it administratively. It’s good police practice.”
Soto did comment that serious crimes on campus, in years past, would be filed directly with the District Attorney’s Office.
How Jamison will handle minor or major arrests has not been clearly outlined or discussed, according to Michelle Bresso, director of public information, who sat in on the interview with Jamison Tuesday.
“We haven’t discussed that yet, it hasn’t come up,” said Jamison. “I’m a senior officer, I authorize my arrest.”
Bresso interjected that sending students to the dean’s office instead of arresting them isn’t so much of a policy as it is letting the administration know of situations that arise on campus.
Jamison was asked if he would.
“That hasn’t been discussed,” answered Bresso. “I imagine it would just be out of courtesy.”
Jamison corroborated that it would be a courtesy but he said that so far, no one has done anything to warrant arrest.
Bresso said that she had not heard of specific instances where students were sent to the dean.
“That’s not a policy,” Bresso said. “I don’t know where that would be written. … I feel that may be a practice but it’s not something that is done (often), simply because, like Officer Jamison said, there’s not a lot of crime going on.”
But in a later interview, Soto discussed the practice.
“We all read from the same book,” Soto said. “We interpret things differently.”
Jamison, who’s also a field training officer for BPD, said that his welcome to the campus has been warm from faculty and students.
“Everyone has welcomed me,” Jamison said. “BC is a great package, top to bottom. It’s a great school and the people here are great.”
Like the BC security police who walk around on campus, he is frequently on foot, or driving a patrol car, to be visible and ensure safety.
Once a student of the police academy at BC, Jamison said he is familiar with the campus. Before being assigned to BC, he was assigned to patrol in the area around the campus and most of the east side of Bakersfield for four years.
He said he feels that he has a job to do but he’s not out to intimidate anyone, especially students.
“I’m not going to get into the middle of your affairs,” Jamison said. “My job is to ensure that the campus remains safe.
“If you need me, I’m here for you, to put closure in whatever may happen. I’m not some cop with a gun. I’m here to help.”