Two new faces of security officially begin their work on Iowa Central Community College's campus today.
Landon Jarl, originally from Minneapolis, and Josh Egesdal, from Storm Lake, who both completed the criminal justice program at Iowa Central, were hired as the full-time security officers on campus.
With more than 1,000 students registered to live on campus this semester, one of the current administration's goals is to provide more security, said Joe Wright, coordinator of the criminal justice program and security supervisor.
"The primary mission (of the security officers) is to promote campus safety, to prevent and deter crime and to be a liaison between all the local law enforcement agents," Wright said. "They will be the eyes and ears on campus."
Wright said they have had part-time security officers in the past, but that the addition of full-time officers follows a nationwide trend among college campuses for added security.
"We have a relatively safe campus with very minimal crime statistics, and we want to continue to make sure that every student and faculty member is safe," Wright said.
Tom Beneke, vice president of enrollment management and student development for Iowa Central, said the addition of the full-time security positions was a decision that has been in the works for a number of years.
"It's something that we've needed," he said. "As we look back at it, we've probably needed something like this three or four years ago ... especially with our growth especially on campus and overall growth, we just felt like it was a needed feature."
The positions and equipment are built into the general budget.
"We just felt, and the (Board of Trustees) felt that it was a needed feature, so we just had to find money available to staff these positions," Beneke said. "With more than 1,000 students living on campus - it's like a small community within the city of Fort Dodge - and we want to ensure that (for) the students who are here, we have created a safe, positive learning environment."
Beneke also commended the generosity of the Webster County Sheriff's Office and the Newell Police Department.
The Webster County Sheriff's Office donated a car - that will eventually be decked out with Iowa Central Security logos, complete with lights and electronics - to be used as the security officers' vehicle. The Newell Police Department donated electronic equipment for the inside of the car.
Sheriff Brian Mickelson said the opportunity to work with the college is something with a strong history that they hope to expand.
"Just having the squad car out and visible so that everybody sees it, I'm guessing that's going to make everything more quiet and peaceful," Mickelson said. "When a parent brings a student up to a campus like this, (with the additional security features on campus), that's definitely going to make them a little more comfortable leaving their kids behind."
In addition to the newly added positions, Wright said they have enhanced all of the lighting on campus, have a staff counselor on staff and utilize a closed-circuit television security monitoring system.
Both security officers agreed that the added security will be useful at a time with a rapid growing student body and that they hope to be an asset on campus.
"We hope that it gives all around safety for students as well as to provide direction and deterrence," Jarl said.
Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net