LCC Police Chief Gaines offers update

The Lookout Staff Writer Jonah Unger recently spoke to LCC Chief of Police Daryl Gaines about any changes that might have occurred to the police department over the winter break. They also spoke about goals and expectations as a police force. The LCC Public Safety web page and contact information can be found here. 

What was LCC's main focus during the winter break?
“Our primary focus as a police department was keeping the campus as secure as possible while everyone was away on break: the primary campus grounds, inside and outside of our buildings, our parking structures as well as our other facilities outside of the downtown campus.”

Did crime rates rise during the break, and if so how did you adjust?
“As far as LCC is concerned we didn’t see any increases in crime over the break. In terms of the city of Lansing as a whole you would want to consult with the Lansing Police Department for an accurate account of the overall crime numbers for the city during that time period.”

Has anything changed regarding the police force in the past few months?
“Since September we’ve hired two new officers which has brought us much closer to being fully staffed. These were great new additions to our police department, both officers being high-character individuals who bring unique skill sets to our team. And both have been great additions to the LCC community. Our police department has also officially entered into the accreditation process with the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.”

Would you say it is a priority to make your presence known as a police force, and if so what would you say are your main efforts of doing that?
“Ensuring the LCC community sees our officers out and about each day is always a priority for us. Not just for the sake of deterring crime, but because it’s important that our college community feels as though their police officers are a part of the community as well. Ensuring our omnipresence around campus helps people to feel safer and engaging with the community allows people to get to know us as people and not to just see us in our professional capacity. So, we always make sure to be present, professional and respectful with everyone we come in contact with while performing our day-to-day duties as officers.”

What are your expectations moving forward through spring and the new year?
 “Our primary goals for 2023 as a police department are to continue to provide the individuals on all of our campuses here at LCC with the safest possible learning and working environment as we can, continuing to give our community a police department they can be proud of, to be fully staffed and to achieve accreditation. Being able to accomplish those things would be a big win for the LCCPD and the LCC community.”