New Public Safety and Security Division at U of M

The University of Michigan has consolidated police and security departments into one division of Public Safety and Security.

U of M Police Chief Jo Piersante is now the interim executive director for the division of Public Safety and Security. Campus Police, Hospital Security and Housing Security all now report to him.

This new division is a direct result of last week's report to the Board of Regents detailing how a pediatrician in training continued working with children for six months after another resident reported him for viewing child pornography in a staff area.

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Steven Jenson is a former University of Michigan Hospital pediatric resident. He was charged in federal court with receipt and possession of child pornography.

Rick Fitzgerald is with the U of M.  “Part of this confusion over handling this incident was that these units, in this case, DPS and hospital security were not working effectively together.  We believe that this new structure will lead to more collaboration, more cooperation as these units are actually a part of one unit and reporting to one executive director who reports directly to the president.”

A national search is underway to find a permanent director. Until then, Piersante will be working toward building a cohesive team out of these three separate units. 

– Chris Zollars