Burt Gutierrez does not fit the stereotype of an intimidating, by-the-books police lieutenant whose handshake could break your hand. Though he is a rather tall man, he has smooth tone of voice.

Upon meeting him, he’ll offer a firm handshake and follow it with a warm greeting. Respectful, relaxed, but professional, Gutierrez seems like a pleasant and friendly intellectual who is committed to campus safety.

“Ultimately in law enforcement, it’s about safety,” Gutierrez said. “We enforce laws and want people to be safe.”

As the new lieutenant of campus police, Lt. Gutierrez replaces Lt. Caesar Romero who left on Feb. 6.

Gutierrez has been serving his community for 36 years, 34 of which he served at the LAPD and two years at Ventura Community Colleges. During his years with the LAPD, he worked as a detective, a field sergeant, and patrolled the city.

He graduated from Valley college and even attended Moorpark for a couple semesters. Now, Gutierrez comes to Moorpark with his own plans for the campus and priorities as lieutenant.

According to Gutierrez, he is working with President Sanchez to help improve traffic flow to reduce the number of hit and runs. He urges students to take the responsible course of action following an accident of any kind, and says that it’s better to let insurance take care of it, rather than escalate the situation.

“The vast majority of traffic accidents are only by exchange of information, it’s not a big deal,” Gutierrez said. “When you flee the scene after damaging someone’s car it becomes a very different matter entirely and I’d like that to get out there to our campus community. Don’t run.”

Cameras around campus have helped campus police identify several perpetrators of hit and run. Gutierrez shared his thoughts about what kind of relationship he wants with the students of Moorpark.

“I want students to look at police officers as part of the community here,” Gutierrez said. “One of the things that I’ve enjoyed here is imparting my knowledge to younger people, it’s rewarding, it’s fun, and I enjoy it.”

With the job comes some difficulties including remaining patient, deescalating situations, and putting his ego away for the greater good, Gutierrez said.

“We live in a very question authority society, we used to be able to do our job almost unchallenged,” said Gutierrez. “You have to be very conservative about what you can legally do as a police officer, you have to be mindful that the job isn’t about you, it’s about service above self.”

According to Gutierrez, students are indeed safe on campus. Recently, there has been an increase in officer visibility and resources have been stretched as much as possible. Students can also opt-in to receive emergency text messages, he said.

“When we had that active shooter scare, that was a way for us to communicate information,” Gutierrez said. “If there’s an emergency that exceeds our capacity, we’ll bring in assets from other campuses to help and support us.”

Following the shooting threat made on Valentine’s Day, Gutierrez dispatched officers and cadets all over campus, increasing their visibility through vehicular and foot patrol.

“This was a great opportunity for us to see where we were prepared and where we weren’t and I actually think it went quite well,” Gutierrez said. “It worked out to be great training for us.”