Hofstra welcomes the new Director of Public Safety

Students returning to Hofstra for the Fall semester will be greeted by a new Public Safety Director. // Photo courtesy of Hofstra University.

Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz announced in an email on April 15 that Karen O’ Callaghan, the current director of public safety, will be retiring. O’Callaghan will be replaced by Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart. Hart, a former FBI agent, is the first woman to hold the highest police position in Suffolk County and will be taking over the position in June.

Hart addressed the Hofstra community in a public welcome webinar over Zoom on Wednesday, May 12, where she answered questions about her plans for the position.         

“Any success that I’ve [had] in my career can be [attributed] to the partnerships that I’ve developed to form successful teams,” Hart said.      

After an explanation of her background, Hart began answering questions regarding her plans to eliminate racial encounters between Public Safety officers and students of color.

A day prior, The Hofstra Clocktower, an independent media website at Hofstra, published an article titled, “Multiple Hofstra Students Allege a Public Safety Officer Used Racial Slurs.” This story contains details about racists encounters that students of color have had with Public Safety officers. This comes after many people of color were protesting for police reform  following the murder of George Floyd and trial of former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.

Hart believes that more needs to be done in order to make students of color feel safe on campus.

“We can do all the training in the world, but we have to change the culture and make sure [officers] understand their responsibility to treat people fairly,” Hart said.

Leading the Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force, Hart has implemented changes that, “collect and share traffic stop data to identify and reduce racial disparities,” according to a statement made by President Rabinowitz.            

Hofstra students hope that her experience with police reform will reduce mistreatment of students of color by Public Safety Officers.

“I am hopeful that her background with reform will help increase accountability,” said Gordon Curry, a senior psychology major.

A recent shooting at a nearby Hempstead Stop & Shop raised safety concerns for many students. Although a text message warning was sent to the Hofstra community, the campus was never put into a lockdown.

Some students say they were not comfortable with the campus remaining open before the shooter was apprehended. They feel that Public Safety took too long to respond.            

“If I were walking and I felt scared, my first thought would not be to call public safety,” said Gigi Walker, a junior political science and global studies major.          

Hart stated that she is planning to improve transparency and communication between the community and public safety. No specific ideas were mentioned, but she plans to attend events to assimilate to Hofstra’s culture.           

“I think what I brought to Suffolk and I’m hoping to bring here is a culture shift, but [to] do it in a way which is not authoritarian,” Hart said.

In response to the webinar, some students think that Hart’s qualifications are well over the job description of this position.  

“I felt as if she was overly qualified for this position if I’m being honest,” said Gabriel Cordero, a junior music education major.