Public Safety

I would like to begin a series on the history of different departments within the school. (If this is OK) if not please don't admonish me!. I'll start at home with Public Safety. The current incarnation, as we know it today was born on December 4, 1985. Three officers were hired to start the fledgling department, and the first officer was Frank Brown, (RISD DPS 1985-2003).Today, the Department has a compliment of 35 Officers, Dispatchers and Facility monitors. Initially, DPS conducted their patrols of, (a much smaller campus) on foot and carried no tools, nor were any certified as EMT's, (your basic run of the mill security force).

In 1989, WJAR-TV of Providence donated two former news vehicles to the department to be used as patrol vehicles. These vehicles were older model Ford Country Squire station wagons. Today, The Department operates four(4) patrol vehicles, and (weather permitting, two bicycles to actively patrol the RISD campus and areas proximal to the campus). As the Department evolved, and the hiring selection process became more stringent,  incoming officers were trained as EMT's beginning in 1994. The department continued to make strides under the direction of then Director Paul Timmins. In 1997, the department continued to modernize with the advent of pepper spray, handcuffs and PR-24 expandable defensive batons. This was done to heighten officer safety as well as to better protect students, staff, faculty, visitors and the general public. With Public Safety Officers being afforderd said resources, the demands of the job rose, and in turn the types of calls and service responses Public Safety was not qualified to handle years earlier began to increase. Beginning in 1995, the Department of Public Safety began to attend the annual RICUPS Academy, (The Rhode Island College, University and Public Safety Training Academy).

The Officers of the Department also took another major step forward on April 4, 2002 when the members voted to be represented by a collective bargaining unit, (a union). The union was started to counter unfair wage and working conditions, and to ensure our jobs were not sub contracted out to a security company, ie:  Wells Fargo, or DB Kelly. Our first contract with the school was settled in July 2003. In April 2005, The Museum Security Officers joined the Public Safety Union bringing the size of our union to 58 members.

Public Safety Officers are also trained in non-violent crisis intervention and MOAB(management of aggressive behavior).

Today, with the training and equipment we have, Public Safety answers myriad more calls than we did in 1985. ie: suspicious persons in buildings,(some are criminals trying to steal from students), Larceny, burglary, visitors in question, narcotics violations, shoplifters from the RISD Store and an array of varied medical responses, etc........ The current Director of Public Safety is Chief Kenneth Bilodeau. The rank "Chief" was established in 2002 with the hiring of Retired Rehoboth, MA Police Chief Raymond C. McKearney. Prior to the rank of Chief, the leader of Public Safety held the title of Director

History of Chiefs/Directors of Public Safety from the current chief first. predecessors will be listed in descending order


 * Chief Kenneth L. Bilodeau, 9/06-
 * Chief Raymond C. McKearney, 6/02-7/06
 * (interim)Director Charles Furgal, 5/02-6/02
 * Director Lucette Dunlop, 1/00-5/02
 * Director Paul Timmins, 10/88-12/99
 * Director Fred White, 12/85-10/88


 * Under the direction of Director Paul Timmins, in December of 1996, the Department's name was formally and officially changed from The Department of Safety and Security to the Department of Public Safety.
 * The current patch design was originally designed by former Officer Duarte Mendonca and former Officer Chris Pacheco