Director's Message

DEPARTMENT of PUBLIC SAFETY 

On behalf of Gettysburg College (GC) and the Department of Public Safety (DPS), I would like to welcome you to the DPS's WebPages. The DPS is an organization of committed professionals who possess a strong desire and willingness to provide its community members with quality safety and security services that they truly want, need, and prefer. DPS espouses to the philosophical and organizational strategy of Community Service Oriented Patrolling (CSOP). CSOP is a proactive approach to the implementation and provision of safety and security services. We value the input of our community and use this feedback to modify existing Departmental operations ensuring we provide the quality service demanded of us.

The DSS's CSOP philosophy focuses on the following core or guiding principles:

• Establishing positive and professional community relationships.
• Reducing campus crime and the fear of crime.
• Developing and employing collaborative problem-solving strategies.
• Enhancing the quality of life at Gettysburg College.
• Employing total quality management (TQM), shared leadership, and an organizational learning philosophy within DSS.
• Striving for continuous quality improvement of work processes for the benefit of the Department's staff and the community members they serve.

The CSOP philosophy and organizational strategy involves long-term strategic planning designed to implement organizational change over a period of time in a manner consistent with the organization's current operations. DSS's change process is planned, deliberate, comprehensive, collaborative, and well coordinated. DSS's operations are driven by the organization's mission, vision, purpose, and overall CSOP strategy or strategic agenda. As DSS's Director, I look forward to working with GC's students, faculty, administrators, and staff as we interdependently and collaboratively work together to identify, analyze, respond to, and assess problems occurring within our community. We truly understand and acknowledge the strength of our community's involvement regarding the reduction of campus crime and disorderly behaviors and conduct. Together, as a united force, we can make a difference at GC in the fight against crime, the fear of crime, and the negative impact both have on our sense of safety and security. As we continue to enhance our operations and safety and security services, we will continually solicit your support, cooperation, and assistance. In conclusion, our organizational strategy and change process is a long-term effort on behalf of the members of DSS. In order for us to fully achieve our preferred future, we need to tirelessly work with our community to ensure the CSOP philosophy becomes an absolute reality ingrained in all members of the GC campus community. Ultimately, DSS wants to be the community's first contact in their time of need. A typical or reactive approach to security and law enforcement means that the community rarely sees their security personnel unless it is in response to a negative incident. DSS wants to assume a proactive posture, wherein we establish positive professional relationships early and work together to solve problems. Again, thank you for visiting our WebPages and I am hopeful your stay at GC is rewarding, challenging, intellectually stimulating, enjoyable, and most importantly, safe!!

Sincerely,

William J. Lafferty Director,

Department of Safety and Security