Black History Month Inspires Reflection and Action for a Better Future<\/a> ><\/p>\n\n\n\nTo ensure inclusivity and sensitivity within his department, Coss is committed to building relationships and getting to know the various clubs and organizations on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He plans to address potential bias or discrimination within his department by providing ongoing training to internal staff and the broader community, helping officers learn from diverse experiences and perspectives. Coss stresses the importance of police engagement within the Dayton community, as it helps build understanding and trust with community members. One officer is also working on a presentation that will discuss these issues. It will be presented to both police officers and the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sinclair police department addresses emergencies through regular safety committee meetings, ongoing staff training and collaboration with external agencies like the University of Dayton. Officers participate in monthly training to stay prepared for crises, including natural disasters and active shooter situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coss went on to share an experience where he successfully managed a crisis in a critical accident: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He once experienced a tornado warning during which there was confusion about the severity of the threat. A tornado was reported nearby, leading to widespread panic among students and staff who were ready to seek shelter; however, Coss\u2019s quick action in this situation showed his ability to manage crisis effectively, ensuring the safety of the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are a storm-ready college, which has certain training and certifications you have to meet, and we have maintained that. So, we were already aware of that tornado,\u201d Coss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sinclair police department also has an emergency text alert system that informs people about anything dangerous around the campus before it is announced on the public address system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coss plans to collaborate with other departments on campus, such as Student Services and Counseling, by being actively involved with the care team and having an active relationship with both departments. The care team was once known as the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) until its name was changed last year. Sinclair police have had this relationship for as long as\u00a0 Coss has worked here.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The care team meets weekly to discuss concerns of students, faculty, or staff and allows for issues related to behavioral problems, housing struggles, or mental health. This ensures appropriate resources, including counseling services or police involvement, are engaged as needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coss highlighted the importance of creating an environment where people feel safe. He believes that the perception of safety is as vital as actual crime statistics, and initiatives that help people feel secure will significantly measure success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe continue to enhance our camera capabilities here, not only by adding cameras in specific locations but also by using the different technologies you can use on cameras, especially when searching functions. Because rather than go back and try to look for something that happened manually, there is software that you can add to that to help you look for that much quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said they are looking for other technologies for panic and duress alarms throughout campus because such devices are portable and stay with people rather than just in a fixed location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there are no cameras in every staircase or building due to budget considerations, there is a master plan to implement cameras in phases. The focus has been on high-traffic areas, such as exterior doors and emergency blue light stations, where cameras are installed to monitor activity and respond to emergencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These emergency blue lights have cameras that provide officers with immediate visual access to any incidents that may occur when the alarm is activated. Aiming to enhance the department\u2019s ability to respond effectively to emergencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To measure the success of his initiatives to improve campus safety, Coss highlighted the importance of gathering feedback from students, faculty and staff. This firsthand information will help assess how the community feels about safety measures and their effectiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing that crime statistics alone do not provide a complete picture, Coss intends to monitor these numbers as one indicator of safety improvements. He recognizes that even with advanced safety measures, crime may still occur, but reducing incidents would be a positive sign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coss sees the biggest challenge facing campus security today as the ongoing threat of an active shooter or similar incidents. He pointed out that while such events may not have occurred on their campus, the frequency of these incidents elsewhere creates concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Changes in campus infrastructure, such as increased glass in buildings, also present new challenges for securing spaces and ensuring safety during emergencies. To address this challenge, Coss plans to apply emergency preparedness, where the department is committed to being ready for emergencies by maintaining a safety committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through a thoughtful approach to each situation, Coss encouraged officers to balance enforcing rules while maintaining a positive relationship with students. When confronted with a problem, officers are encouraged to assess the nature of the incident while considering whether it involves a legal violation, breach of the student code of conduct or both.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coss advises aspiring law enforcement professionals to build relationships with those in the field and explore various roles from street officers to forensic specialists. He emphasizes learning from experienced individuals to gain a realistic understanding of the profession beyond the often-misleading portrayals in media and television, which do not often show the accurate reality of law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Coss\u2019s leadership, Sinclair\u2019s campus will be safer and more welcoming to everyone. Being trusted with such a position says a lot about who he is as a person and at work. With his experiences as a police officer and vision, it is no surprise that the police department chose him as the new chief police officer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esperance Amuri, Online Editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael Coss, the new Chief of Police at Sinclair Community College, brings nearly 20 years of experience along with a vision focused on trust, community engagement and safety. His leadership prioritizes creating lasting connections within the campus community.\u00a0 \u201cI started here as a police officer in 2005 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 2010. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10416,"featured_media":41153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2102,3522,3328,2110,3603,3,3525],"tags":[6193,1418,382,276,1658],"class_list":["post-41151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-dayton-news","category-government","category-local","category-society","category-tartan-news","category-tartan-spotlight","tag-building-trust-and-safety-as-sinclairs-new-chief-of-police","tag-campus-life","tag-safety","tag-sinclair-community-college","tag-sinclair-police"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC01062-1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-aHJ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41152,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41151\/revisions\/41152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}