Professional development guide for community service officers within community college police departments

College security has been around since the late 1800s. Community colleges have utilized
security since building their physical campuses during the mid-to-late 1960s. Community service
officers emerged as one of over 200 recommendations developed by the 1967 CALEA task force
which compiled possible methods to reduce crime in the nation and increase citizen safety.
Training for these CSOs is limited both upon hire and for ongoing professional development.
The purpose of the research was to develop a professional development training guide for
supervisors and training managers for community service officers within community college
police departments. This product dissertation was created after learning what the current
minimum training standards are being applied by community college police departments; the
areas that the departments feel could enhance the department's training curriculum for CSOs; and
what training CSOs are currently required to complete. The guide contains two sections and
multiple training phases. Section one focuses on orientation, on-boarding, and essential skills
training for the newly hired CSO. Section two focuses on professional development after the
CSO has been released from their initial training. Enhanced training can assist CSOs with being
more efficient and able to assist the college community while police officers respond to
potentially hazardous situations that the CSO does not have the tools or training to respond to.