Public Safety (Police)

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters

Staff Senate

Tue, 06/10/2025 - 18:13

Retired Security Officer Stephen Sersen and daughter Julianne’s ��-Dearborn connection has spanned decades — from his 35-year job at the university to hers today.

Father-daughter duo Julianne Sersen and Stephen Sersen are pictured in the Renick University Center. Photo by Annie Barker

New faces, new responsibilities for Department of Public Safety

kbourlie — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:55:12 +0000

New faces, new responsibilities for Department of Public Safety kbourlie Wed, 05/28/2025 - 09:55

��-Dearborn’s Department of Public Safety is in the midst of a significant transformation. Over the last year, DPS has increased its workforce by hiring six more officers, with plans to hire an additional six officers by August 2025.

As the University of Michigan system branches into new locations — such as the Marygrove Learning Community in Detroit — Dearborn DPS’ responsibilities have expanded across Wayne County. DPS officers currently provide service to Marygrove in conjunction with the Detroit Police Department, with DPS officers responding from the Dearborn campus during the day and working on site overnight. The department plans to transition to round-the-clock coverage at Marygrove to provide consistent service and build essential relationships within the community. “As U-M expands our presence in Wayne County, there's a potential that we would support more areas as well,” notes Deputy Chief Paul Tennies. This could include the U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit which is expected to open in spring 2027.

DPS’ primary focus, however, will remain the Dearborn campus and its affiliated programs. With funding from Ann Arbor to facilitate its expansion, “we're getting more service, more people, and without any impact to service or budget for our campus,” Tennies says.

With increased staff and responsibilities comes new equipment and upgraded technology. This includes advanced radio systems, computer-aided dispatching, and installation of physical security systems, like security cameras at Marygrove.

With many new faces in the department, Reporter chatted with three DPS employees who were recently hired or promoted about what led them to a career in law enforcement and why they chose to serve at ��-Dearborn.

Deputy Chief Paul Tennies

Joining the ��-Dearborn Department of Public Safety in April 2024 as a captain — and recently promoted to deputy chief — Tennies brings with him more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. While Tennies has spent the bulk of his career with Northville Township, retiring in 2021 from his role as the chief of police, his journey in law enforcement started right here at ��-Dearborn. While a student in the behavioral sciences program, Tennies got a campus job — and soon after a full time offer — as a security officer with Campus Safety. He transferred to Ann Arbor, working in hospital security and at the campus police department. He ended up leaving ��-Dearborn for a program that enabled him to get his associate’s degree and police certification simultaneously.

After completing the police academy at Schoolcraft College, Tennies was hired by Northville Township in 2002. “Like most cops, I did a little bit of everything. I was a patrol officer, a field training instructor, investigator, undercover officer with the DEA and the state police, and then held leadership positions across the organization and retired as chief of police,” he says.

In his day-to-day role with the department, Tennies serves as the operations commander responsible for “scheduling, hiring, personnel, issues, strategy, budget — kind of everything but the kitchen sink,” he says. DPS’ growth in recent years — not just in size but expectations — has brought both challenges and opportunities.

“The department is about 50 years old, starting as a security agency, and is moving into a full service law enforcement agency. That requires a lot of effort to make sure that we're in line with some of our other partners who have been doing police work for 75 to 100 years. We’re embracing that challenge, supporting our team to make sure that they have what they need to be successful,” says Tennies. “The benefit of working in a university environment is we typically have the ability to put the time and effort into situations that sometimes you don't get to in cities just based on volume. We're able to build relationships and work to find solutions with a lot of resources that the university has invested.”

Sergeant Sean Murphy

While Sergeant Sean Murphy has been with the Department of Public Safety for 10 years, his connection to campus goes back even further. A CASL alum, Murphy graduated with his bachelor’s in political science and criminal justice in 2013. After receiving his diploma, Murphy attended the police academy before joining the Canton Township Police Department. After about a year, Murphy came back to work on ��-Dearborn’s campus as a public safety officer.

“I think because I went to school here as an undergrad, it's interesting to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same since I was a freshman,” he says. “Seeing a lot of familiar faces that I've built relationships with since 2008 and seeing their journey is rewarding.”

Murphy earned his second diploma from ��-Dearborn in December after graduating with his master of public administration and policy. He was also recently promoted to sergeant. Building relationships with staff and students is something Murphy prioritizes in his role.

“We recognize that sometimes people need help with things that aren't necessarily criminal or law related. I think that our officers really take the time to interact and help our campus community in ways that typically you don't think of a police officer doing,” says Murphy. “The way I think of it is something that could take us five minutes could completely change the course of someone's day and be the make or break of whether that person's having a good day or not. And I think that we have a really good group of officers who recognize that.”

Murphy emphasized, however, that he wants the campus community to feel comfortable engaging with him and other officers anytime — whether they need assistance or just want to chat.

“It doesn't have to be someone having a bad day or a victim of a crime. We want to have the relationships where if you see us in the UC, you can stop and talk to us about non-police related matters like sports or whatever else is going on,” he says.

Public Safety Police Officer Quentin Maxey

From a young age, Quentin Maxey knew he wanted to be a police officer. “My mom will tell you and validate that, at a very early age, I always wanted to be a police officer, from dressing up in police costumes for Halloween and watching a lot of the old sitcoms of cops. This was my chosen profession from a very young age,” says Maxey. He also drew inspiration from his grandfather, Gilbert Maxey, the first African American police officer in Indianapolis.

Maxey’s career began in 1995 at the Detroit Police Academy. After graduating, he rose through the ranks, working in various divisions including gaming, bicycle patrol and as a shift lieutenant in downtown Detroit. After retiring from the Detroit Police Department, Maxey joined the ��-Dearborn Department of Public Safety in September of 2024, bringing with him almost 30 years of law enforcement experience.

For him, transitioning from the bustling streets of Detroit to the slower pace of the ��-Dearborn campus isn't a retirement job, but a fulfilling second career. Maxey says his favorite part of the job is being there to help — even with something as simple as a vehicle lockout or retrieving a left-behind item.

“We had a student who lost his coat, and I was instrumental in helping him relocate it. His winter jacket had some pretty valuable items inside — obviously, his wallet, his personal ID – but he actually had his dad's house keys, who resides in the City of Cleveland. So to be able to unite the jacket with the student who called for our service was very rewarding,” says Maxey.

DPS is available 24/7, 365

All three officers had the same message when it comes to safety on campus: If something doesn’t seem right, notify Public Safety right away. While people may hesitate to call because they do not want to be a bother, Tennies says it is the complete opposite. “We would much rather you call and it be nothing than not hear about something and not be able to support the community,” he insists.

Adds Murphy: “We're here, 24/7, 365. There's always someone here, no matter the day or the time, and our main focus is your safety. So if they ever need anything, reach out to us and have us assist.”

Story by Kathryn Bourlier. Photos by Annie Barker (Deputy Chief Tennies photo courtesy of Paul Tennies)

Off

Wed, 05/28/2025 - 13:53

DPS has scaled up with more staff and modern technology. Find out what it means for our campus — and beyond.

Photo by Annie Barker

Get to Know Dave Hawkins, ��-Dearborn chief of police

stuxbury — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:49:52 +0000

Get to Know Dave Hawkins, ��-Dearborn chief of police stuxbury Wed, 09/20/2023 - 12:49

If you are on campus, odds are that you’ve seen Chief of Police Dave Hawkins walking the university grounds — that’s something he does on a nearly daily basis. Maybe you ran into him as he helped students move into the Union this fall. He also stops in to cheer at sporting events and takes time to meet with student groups, office staff and faculty departments.

In short: He’s everywhere. And, more importantly, he’s accessible.

In a conversation with Reporter, Hawkins, who assumed his role as campus’s new police chief on Aug. 5, agreed to answer some police pop culture prompts. He said his favorite doughnut is Boston cream because it reminds him of childhood treats his dad would bring home from The Custard Hut in Dearborn Heights. His favorite police shows include Adam-12, because of the cool action figures, and T.J. Hooker because of William Shatner.

When asked about a memorable on-the-job moment, the conversation became more serious.

Hawkins said he took part in a statewide “Pancakes & Politics” discussion several years ago. As an officer, he volunteered to attend the forum to listen to and learn from people of color in the community. During the event, Black men spoke about the fear they felt during routine traffic stops. Participants shared stories of racial profiling, verbal and physical abuse, and other reasons why there was a lack of trust between officers and community members of color.

“It was absolutely unforgettable. There was so much pain and raw emotion. People shared how they were policed based on their appearance and how poorly they’ve been treated. I thought I had an understanding, but, as the event went on, it became more and more apparent how unaware I really was,” Hawkins said. “Even if I saw myself as one of the good guys and I knew of the great work the officers were doing in our department, the people with these lived experiences didn’t see me as a good guy. Listening to negative encounter after negative encounter, I understood why. We may not have done these things, but we represented the people who had.”

Hawkins said unchecked power due to a lack of accountability and transparency can be dangerous. He contends it's a good thing that body cameras and microphones are now standard, and it's important for people to continue speaking out when they see injustice. “It’s our responsibility as officers to be accountable and to hold each other accountable. The more that happens, the more opportunities there will be to rebuild trust,” he said.

Hawkins said the officers he knows are dedicated to their mission “to protect and to serve.” “We got into this line of service for a reason, and that reason is to serve the people in our communities,” he said. “Most officers do the right things for the right reasons every day. And we’ve got some great officers at U-M.”

Hawkins would know. He has a proven track record in law enforcement with leadership roles as the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security’s deputy chief, lieutenant and sergeant. During his 22 years with DPSS, Hawkins has made it a point to skillfully balance police operations and community well-being. He transferred to ��-Dearborn in May 2022 to serve as deputy chief of police for former ��-Dearborn Police Chief Gary Gorski, who relocated to the west side of the state.

Hawkins and his ��-Dearborn officers make it a priority to get out in the community and talk to people about everyday life like families, pets, sports and hobbies. They are on staff kickball teams, participate in scavenger hunts, greet students at Wolverine Welcome Day and more.

Hawkins said it's important to be out and about on campus so officers learn what people want and need — and then, when possible, work to make it happen. For example, ��-Dearborn community members have shared there’s a need for a campus-based trainer who can teach first-aid classes. In response, Public Safety is in the process of hiring someone to fill that role.

Hawkins said the community aspect is why he worked so hard to become an officer in the first place and that police role models in his metro Detroit community left a positive impression on him. “I looked up to them and the work they did,” he said.” I knew I wanted to be an officer too.”

After high school, Hawkins joined the U.S. Army Military Police Corps. After he completed his service, he was offered an opportunity to work as a private investigator. The role included detective work, but it wasn’t the community-minded position Hawkins had dreamed about. After doing some career research, Hawkins realized that a police officer position required a post-secondary education. To support his growing family and education, he enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. He worked the night shift as a custodian so he could take criminal justice classes during the day.

“There was little sleep and a lot of hustle, but you do what you need to do to make things work,” he said. “I ended up graduating with a 3.98 GPA in three years. My son Josh was born right after that. Everything worked out.” Through the custodian position, Hawkins made a connection to ��-Ann Arbor’s Department of Public Safety, leading to his first role as an officer in April 2001.

That was more than two decades ago. Since that time, he’s continued to look for opportunities for personal and professional growth. Josh is now a young adult and a ��-Dearborn student. Hawkins is only a few credits shy of a master's degree in technology with a concentration in public safety and emergency management. He said is proud to be the police chief for a university that values community.

“We have a good group of folks in our department and all across our university. They work hard, but still have time for a little fun too,” Hawkins said. “I’m glad to be part of such a close-knit community that prioritizes people and I look forward to building even stronger relationships between students, faculty and staff and our officers.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Leadership

University-wide

Staff Senate

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Wed, 09/20/2023 - 16:49

Hawkins brings 20-plus years of U-M police experience and a love of the community to his ��-Dearborn Public Safety leadership role.

Police Chief Dave Hawkins Photo/Julianne Lindsey

Meet Jessica Johnson, our new emergency management and infrastructure security coordinator

lblouin — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:07:10 +0000

Meet Jessica Johnson, our new emergency management and infrastructure security coordinator lblouin Mon, 07/24/2023 - 13:07

In 2018, Jessica Johnson was just getting settled into her role on the emergency management team in the Division of Public Safety and Security at the ��-Ann Arbor campus. Her specialty was “continuity of operations,” an area that focuses on maintaining core functions of the university in the event of a catastrophic event. It’s something Johnson says people outside the emergency management world tend to not think much about. A little more than a year later, we'd of course all be thinking about continuity of operations. When COVID hit the U.S. in early 2020, universities were scrambling to figure out how to continue classes online, work remotely, make residence halls safe and ensure researchers could continue their work. “I went from having a pretty normal schedule to often working until 10 p.m. or midnight because we had to have 24/7 emergency support coverage,” Johnson says. “Every day, it was our responsibility to put together a big report with all the latest data about positivity rates, hospital bed utilization, cases on campus, the whole nine yards. That was our life, seven days a week for about a year.”

Thankfully, that intense pandemic experience didn’t burn Johnson out on preparedness work. She’s now bringing her expertise to the ��-Dearborn campus as the new emergency management and infrastructure security coordinator. Johnson, who holds a degree in homeland security from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, says it’s actually a fascinating time to be working in this space. For starters, she’s observed that the collective pandemic experience has made it easier to get community buy-in on preparedness planning, which could sometimes feel like pulling teeth before. In addition, there are some unique circumstances reshaping the preparedness landscape. The normalization of remote work and education has changed how we occupy and use our buildings, and with that comes the need for new strategies. Further, the prevalence of mass shootings, including the Feb. 13 incident on the Michigan State campus, has created a more visceral concern about physical security among students, faculty and staff.

Johnson says conversations about how to prepare for such an event are ongoing and evolving, stressing there is no easy, one-size-fits-all solution. “Every community has a different culture and it’s important to build your security strategies around things that the community feels comfortable with,” Johnson says. “Some people might feel safer with a more visible police or security presence, but we need to be mindful that other parts of our community might actually feel less safe in that environment, which is the opposite of what we want to achieve.” New infrastructure and technology will also likely be part of the path forward. But Johnson again stressed that whatever decisions are made have to reflect the community’s desires — and be well thought out. For example, she says institutions and businesses sometimes rush to equip themselves with elaborate camera systems, forgetting that they might not have the staff to actively monitor them.

In the more immediate future, Johnson is focused on ��-Dearborn’s Building Incident Response Team program. BIRT faculty and staff volunteers help coordinate emergency responses in particular buildings, and serve both as points of contact for building occupants in emergency situations and liaisons to first responders, who may need pertinent information upon arrival. Johnson says the growth of remote work and the fact that the university, like other workplaces, has experienced quite a bit of turnover since the pandemic mean that many BIRT units need new members. Thankfully, since her arrival on campus, she’s seen a lot of interest in participating in BIRT, as well as tabletop exercises, which can help leaders review and revise emergency plans.

“Continuous improvement is just the nature of the ever-evolving environment that is preparedness, safety and security,” Johnson says. “So we’re excited to dig in, talk with people and make updates to our plans so everyone feels safe and comfortable coming to work and learn on our campus.”

###

Have a specific question for our new DPSS Emergency Management and Infrastructure Security Coordinator Jessica Johnson? She’d love to hear from you. You can email her at jbjohns@umich.edu.

Leadership

University-wide

Staff Senate

Off

Mon, 07/24/2023 - 17:06

Johnson brings years of experience on the Ann Arbor campus and a background in homeland security to ��-Dearborn.

Photo by Kathryn Bourlier

Administration & Governance

New policy focuses on maintaining campus safety

stuxbury — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 02:36:21 +0000

New policy focuses on maintaining campus safety stuxbury Mon, 10/10/2022 - 22:36

Employees identified as campus security authorities (CSAs) are required to report information about crimes to the university.

This is an obligation under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crimes Act. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose crime statistics and security information to the public.

A new U-M policy — Standard Practice Guide 601.91, Clery Act Compliance — outlines the expectations of the U-M Division of Public Safety and Security and CSAs under the Clery Act. It applies to the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.

“The new policy increases awareness of the important role DPSS and CSAs have in maintaining campus safety and security,” said Eddie Washington, executive director of DPSS. “While employees identified as campus security authorities have an obligation to share information with campus police under the Clery Act, all members of the U-M community are encouraged to report any information about crime.”

DPSS/��-Dearborn DPS shares crime statistics publicly in an annual security report each October. The types of crimes covered include sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, stalking, theft and aggravated assault.

��-Dearborn DPS conducted a Campus Security Authority identification project, which identified all CSAs for the campus. All CSAs have been notified of their roles and responsibilities to train and report. Collaboration with DPSS/��- Ann Arbor is underway in establishing the new robust process to continue to identify, notify, train and track employees.

As noted under the policy, CSAs are required to complete annual training to help them understand their role and how to report information on crime to the university. The training is available through My LINC and needs to be completed annually.

Training for the CSAs was made available this summer. If there are employees who have not completed the training, ��-Dearborn Clery Compliance Coordinator Celia Robinson will work with the appropriate dean, director or department head to ensure compliance.

CSAs include:

All DPSS/��-Dearborn DPS personnel
Other individuals who have responsibility for campus security, but who do not work for DPSS/��-Dearborn DPS (including contracted security providers)
Officials who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities outside of the classroom, such as all deans, department chairs, directors, coaches, advisers to sponsored student organizations and anyone involved with children on campus. Faculty with no other leadership obligations generally are not CSAs

The new SPG policy was developed with input from the Clery Compliance Workgroup, including DPSS, the Office of the General Counsel and national experts on Clery Act compliance.

Note: CSAs are different than IROs.

CSAs differ from individuals with reporting obligations, known as IROs, who also have a responsibility under the U-M Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy to report information about certain crimes to the university.

IROs are required to share information with the Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX office about alleged prohibited conduct under U-M policies, and include university administrators and supervisors and employees in certain designated positions and units or departments. Wondering if you are an IRO? Check out this chart.

University-wide

Off

Tue, 10/11/2022 - 02:35

U-M has developed a new process to identify, notify, train and track employees who have responsibility under federal regulations to report certain crimes to the university.