CLEARLAKE >> The Yuba Community College District, which includes Woodland College Clearlake campus will transition to a new public safety and security format whose goal is to enhance protection across five campus locations.
The YCCD Board voted on May 9 to onboard a temporary security service. District Chancellor Shouan Pan said a notable change will be implementation of 24/7 security, which will begin as soon as the private security team has all been hired and trained. However, two campuses, Woodland and Marysville will distinguish themselves from the rest. “We’re moving to unarmed security,” he said. In fact, he disclosed Woodland never had armed security. “We will train the team,” assured Pan. Last week the YCCD Board finalized a one-year contract with Tactical Training Academy. Pan also confirmed they will no longer have commissioned officers from the City of Clearlake.
Yet, other campuses will adopt a hybrid security model. The decision to adopt a hybrid security model was made following a safety and security assessment conducted by the Tactical Academy. An investigative study done last year disclosed inconsistent security coverage across the District. In February, the YCCD Board of Trustees voted to move to a security structure that will include a new District Division of Security and Risk Management overseen by a district director, contracted county and city school resource officers (SROs), and full-time, in-house, non-commissioned security officers.
The YCCD Board of Trustees voted to hire American Guard Services, Inc. (AGS) to provide unarmed security services On May 9. This choice followed a thorough review of proposals from several security service agencies. AGS has a history of providing security services for government and commercial entities. This has included higher education institutions such as the University of Southern California and Peralta Community College District. The District intends to use its services until the in-house security team is staffed and fully operational.
“AGS was chosen for their extensive experience, broad range of resources and thorough understanding of what is required to protect a higher education institution,” Dr. Pan said. “We feel assured that they will fulfill our top priority to keep our employees, students and visitors safe at all locations.”
YCCD is currently processing applications for the district director position to lead the new District Division of Safety and Risk Management. Once selected and approved by the Board of Trustees, the District will proceed to staff the department.
This will help provide a range of public safety services to address incident reports, investigations and traffic control through partnerships with local law enforcement. The District expects to finalize an approved agreement with AGS, as well as the county and city for SROs, by July 1, 2024, noted Pan.
