MSU police Capt. Ken Hall has a big job ahead of him.
The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety announced the formation of the Student Support Division this month to increase communication between students and police.
The division was created in response to the Task Force on Student-Police Relations, and will be overseen by Hall.
The task force was appointed by MSU officials in the wake of the placement of an undercover officer into the student group United Students Against Sweatshops, now called Students for Economic Justice, beginning Feb. 19, 2000.
“It’s no secret that at times the relationship (between students and police) has been strained,” Hall said. “But it’s important to emphasize that often it’s been pretty good, too.”
Hall said he hopes to have the MSU police co-sponsor events with student groups and offer ride-alongs. Such efforts are an important first step in strengthening community ties, he said.
“My first goal is to reach out my hand and listen to (students’) concerns,” Hall said. “We have to be able to build a trust that at least we will be able to discuss things in an open and honest fashion.”
Hall, a 21-year veteran of the department, has been in charge of special events, operations and internal affairs. He also served as a special assistant to the police chief. Hall said he will be working with community police officers to improve community relations.
“They deal on a day-to-day basis with the members of the community,” Hall said. “My job is going to be internally helping them cut through some red tape.”
Melissa Hornaday, an international studies sophomore who is a member of SEJ, said the position could be helpful with communication.
But the job of changing student relations will be a struggle, she said.
“Anything that will help students have a voice to communicate with police is a good idea,” Hornaday said. “I am not sure how effective this will be. I am not sure if the intention is to open communication or to protect the university’s interests.
“If they work with students and stop the infiltration of student groups I think that it’s great.”
MSU police Assistant Chief Jim Dunlap said the position will differ from the community police officer positions, which focus on specific areas of campus. Dunlap said Hall will be paid about $70,000 per year.
“He is a very approachable person and sometimes people are wary of asking questions and seeking information at times,” he said. “The concept behind community police officers is to address problems in their given area. (Hall’s) job is really to cover the entire community.”
Although Hall wasn’t working with campus groups while on leave the last two years, Dunlap said he wasn’t out of touch.
“We hope it will streamline things for us and provide a better way for the department to notify the community of a lot of things we do,” he said. “The majority of the population we serve are the students so to have someone focusing on that area would make a lot of sense.”
Staff writers Ed Ronco and Megan Frye contributed to this report.
