Citizen Complaint Procedure

The Whittier College Department of Campus Safety realizes it must be responsive to input from the citizens and students in the community. And while the majority of the department's interaction with the community is positive—involving general public assistance, provision of information, or in some cases, life-saving action by a Campus Safety officer--we do recognize that there may be times when an officer's action may be called into question. In these cases, we strongly encourage individuals to report what they believe to be acts of officer misconduct. The complaint must be made in good faith, and the department pledges to respond swiftly, thoroughly, and fairly to bonafide reports of alleged misconduct.

Does that mean the Department of Campus Safety wants complaints?
Of course not. A complaint may mean that someone hasn't done a good enough job. But, we do want to know when our service needs to be improved or corrected.

Will you seriously consider my complaint?
Certainly. We want to find out what went wrong, if anything, so that we can see to it that it doesn't happen again.

Who will investigate my complaint?
Either an investigator from the Campus Safety Department or a qualified representative of Whittier College.

Who should I speak with first?
You should take a complaint about an officer to his/her supervisor.

But I want to take this all the way to the top; I want the Chief of Campus Safety to know.
And he will. The Chief of Campus Safety gets copies of ALL complaints against officers. Each of the officer's supervisor is notified as well.

Do I have to register my complaint in person?
No. We prefer to talk to you in person, however, if there are valid reasons why this can't be done, your complaint can be made over the phone or by mail. (To file a complaint by mail, please print and fill out completely the Citizen Complaint Form and mail it to Whittier College Department of Campus Safety, P.O. Box 634, Whittier, CA 906908.)

Generally, we do not accept a complaint from another party on your behalf, as this would be considered hearsay information and could leave out important facts needed for an investigation. After receiving your complaint, a department supervisor will contact you.

I'm under 18; do I have the right to register a complaint?
Yes; just bring one or both of your parents or guardians with you.

How closely will you really investigate?
Very closely! We want to find out where we went wrong. On the other hand, if a person makes a FALSE compliant, we want to make that determination.

What will happen to the officer ?
That will depend on what he/she did. If his/her actions were criminal, he/she would be dealt with like any other person. If they were improper, but not criminal, he/she will be disciplined by the Chief of Campus Safety.

What if I'm not satisfied with the results of this investigation?
We sincerely hope that would never happen. However, IF IT DID, an appointment would be made for you with the Chief of Campus Safety to discuss the complaint. Our goal at the Whittier College Campus Safety Department is that you will never need to use the information contained in this page. We are striving through continuing efforts to give YOU the best possible service.

The Whittier College Campus Safety Department constantly seeks ways to improve our service to the community and campus alike. We have pledged ourselves to professional and dedicated service. To help us maintain this objective, we sincerely appreciate your comments.