The newest addition to Moorpark College is finally open, the Moorpark College Police Station. After a full year of construction, this structure is finished.
“Every other law enforcement in the county is jealous of us,” said Interim Chief of Police Gregory Beckley. “This is a state of the art facility.”
Inside the building is the main lobby, with glass separating the officers’ room from the public’s lobby. Through the officers security door, there is an interrogation room, a main lounge area, and many new offices for the campus officers. The rest of the building is secured more tightly due to safety precautions.
Beckley is going into his second month as Interim Chief of Police for Ventura County. Although this is an exciting time for Beckley, he realizes his duties as chief have taken him away from Moorpark’s campus for a great deal of time.
In respect to his absence, Lt. Romero from Oxnard College has agreed to work part-time at Moorpark College when Beckley is not available. This is to maintain the level of safety at Moorpark under Beckley’s oversight. All officers at Moorpark College are veterans, and they are hoping to hire a new district officer before the summer semester.
With over 15,000 students currently attending Moorpark College, the police officers make sure we remain the safest college in the Ventura County Community College District despite being the largest campus. Property crimes are the most common occurrences at Moorpark, so Beckley would like to remind students to make sure they never leave any personal belongings unattended.
In addition to the new police station located at the bottom of the main hill on campus is the new parking structure, which will be opening shortly. The Police Station and parking structure were a joint project and were built concurrently using funding from Measure S.
According to Beckley, there is a definite need for parking at Moorpark. The parking structure is designed to make parking easier for students, with a less stressful arrival and departure. There are over 40 surveillance cameras in the new parking structure, which the Police Station will be monitoring, so students who may be involved in collisions will be covered. This will hopefully decrease hit-and-run accidents.
With the opening of the parking structure, the dirt lots at the top of Fountain Hall’s main parking area will be closed. The overflow parking lots will be fenced off and students will no longer be able to legally park there. Students who need to find parking will find it in the parking structure or other parking lots belonging to the campus.
This parking structure is also a designated no-smoking area. The only smoking areas on campus are at the far North parking lots in Fountain Hall’s main parking area marked A and B.
“We are hoping to have Moorpark College be a completely clean campus with no cigarettes, e-cigs, and other narcotics by fall semester,” said Beckley.
For more information or concerns, contact the Moorpark College police at (805) 378-1455, or visit the new building at the bottom of the hill on campus.
The inside of the security room overlooking the police station lobby. (Ciara Gallagher)
