Canisius University has announced its eliminating their public safety department, in favor of a private security firm. It comes with at least short-term layoffs, and the loss of state-sworn peace officers.
The in-house Canisius Public Safety Department will be no more, with Alaska-based NANA Management Services taking over as a private security contractor. The move has been seen at other universities and institutions nationwide.
Why might an organization make this kind of decision? Former Buffalo Police captain and now vice president of security provider Tarian Group, Jeff Rinaldo, said a lot of it comes down cost and efficiency.
“It’s a method to save money on their security program. Another major reason is the flexibility of that program, so as your needs may change during the course of a year, you might need more staff in the spring and less in the summer, or vice versa," said Rinaldo. "You know, with a contract company, they have the manpower to bring that to bear.”
Canisius has been in some financial trouble, operating at a multi-million dollar deficit as recently as 2020, and has proposed $15 million in cuts to its operating budget for next year. Rinaldo said private security can be effective for universities, but it’s contingent on training and oversight.
“Whether you're guarding a college, university, a hospital, a retail store, a corporate office environment, [it's] really identifying what are the training requirements that we need those staff to be proficient in," he said. "And then ensuring that there's compliance in that training, but also keeping an eye out for additional training needs as they arise.”
Rinaldo says Canisius Public Safety officers, who were state-sworn peace officers with some police powers, had been an asset to the Main Street campus and surrounding neighborhood.
“They were individuals that cared about the campus, cared about the community, worked collaboratively, not just with Buffalo PD, but other agencies and first responders," Rinaldo said. "So there will definitely be a change in culture, per se, but it's not a situation where a private security firm can't fulfill a similar role.”
Canisius said the current public safety staff is encouraged to apply for new roles at the campus through NANA Management Services.
