'INSIGHT Into Diversity' Highlights Buffalo State's Community-Policing Plan

Buffalo State College and the University Police Department (UPD) were recognized for the college’s community-policing plan in an article that appeared December 17 in INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. 

The writer focused on Buffalo State’s proactive community-policing approach, which aims to improve relations between officers and other members of the campus community. The article noted that in 2015, President Katherine Conway-Turner formed a Community Policing Advisory Committee. She chose a cross-section of students, faculty, and administrators who drafted a community-oriented policing philosophy designed to drive all related on-campus efforts. 

The article includes comments from Amy Pedlow, UPD assistant police chief, and Michael Heflin, director of equity and campus diversity, and Rick Myers, UPD administrative lieutenant, on the effectiveness of the community-policing initiative. Among other things, they discussed positive ways that police officers build rapport with students and faculty and hiring practices that ensure all law enforcement members understand community policing.