Public safety implements departmental changes in hopes of becoming more personable

Geraldine Hart, director of public safety, implements changes to public safety for the Spring 2022 semester. // Photo courtesy of Megan Naftali.

With the arrival of Geraldine Hart, director of public safety, last June, along came new changes to public safety’s training, image and student and community outreach initiatives. 

“When public safety pulls up, the automatic reaction is ‘something is wrong;’ we want to change that to ‘public safety is here to help,’” Hart said. 

One way in which Hart hopes to improve public safety’s relationship with the student body is with the creation of “Dishin’ with the Director,” an office hour-type meeting held every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in room 111 of the Student Center. 

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that [students] are going to take the time out to walk across Hempstead Turnpike to come visit me,” Hart said. “This is more convenient if they want to pop by and talk about an experience they’re having with public safety or if they have a suggestion.”

Another way Hart is attempting to improve public safety is by adding a new curriculum to the eight-hour state-mandated training that officers are required to take once every year. 

“We did a [training] piece called ‘Intergenerational Communication,’ which is allowing our officers to see that different generations communicate differently,” Hart said. “We need to understand that and be trained on how to speak to different generations, and the students joined us for that, which was really helpful.”

Four students attended the intergenerational communication training session, three of which were a part of the Student Government Association (SGA), according to Sarah Salob, a junior community health major who works with public safety and attended the training event. 

“They invited students to go and talk with the public safety officers about your strengths, your weaknesses and the misconceptions of your generation,” Salob said. “You were allowed to talk it through with all of the officers, and we were able to start a conversation and communicate to see our differences, find common ground and be able to respect and understand each other’s perspectives.” 

Hart also replaced an associate director role with the manager of community outreach and engagement, served by Jovanni Ortiz. 

“The manager of community outreach and engagement is dedicated to having public safety engage with the community, and that is their sole responsibility,” Hart said. 

Hart is also determined to soften public safety’s image. One way she plans to do so is by completely redesigning the uniforms. 

“We’ll have a winter/fall uniform and a spring/summer uniform,” Hart said. “It’s really pushing [officers] to get away from the tan uniform. It’s been around for a long time, so it’s time for a change.”

Due to the supply shortage, public safety hopes to receive the winter/fall uniform by the end of the month. The new uniforms will showcase entirely new colors that will be unveiled at a later date. 

Some students believe that once you get to know public safety, it becomes more comfortable to interact with the officers. 

“I think there might be a misconception about what public safety is to different students depending on the interactions that they have had,” said Kat Reed, a senior community health major who has worked with public safety since her freshman year. “I know sometimes coming to public safety can be very scary for some people, but they’re always here to help and willing to make sure you’re okay.”

Public safety is also growing their social media presence, and you can follow them on Instagram and Twitter @HofstraSafe.