Campus Police Unveils New Facility, Signs Shared Principles

About 100 people, including elected officials and trustees, were in attendance at Joliet Junior College’s Main Campus to celebrate the grand opening of the JJC Police Department’s new facility in the G-Building on Wednesday, Aug. 10.



Prior to the renovation, the JJC Police Department worked in separate areas of the college. JJC’s police department consists of 15 sworn officers and 20 campus safety officers.



The new facility is nearly 4.5 times bigger than the previous facility and includes new vehicle storage, a modernized dispatch area, a training room/command center that can double as an emergency operations center and more. 



“We already prided ourselves on our professionalism, but before, we did not have a space that matched our capabilities,” JJC Police Chief Brandon Campbell said. “The new facility really showcases what we are capable of. We are very proud of the space, and it was great to share our experience with the rest of the JJC community.”



The ribbon cutting also served as the official signing of the Ten Shared Principles. These were created by the Illinois National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) State Conference and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and have been adopted by the JJC Police Department to demonstrate the police force’s commitment to the public they serve.



Some key values of the principles include dignity, respect, fairness, transparency, accountability and diversity.



Chief Brandon Campbell signed the principles on behalf of the JJC Police Department, and in doing so, added the department to the agreement made between the Illinois NAACP and ILACP.



“It shows that the Joliet Junior College Police Department and school are intentional about building relationships on campus and in the community in a way that shows they’re focused on equality and seeing everybody,” said Mike Clark, president of the Joliet NAACP. “They’re taking on their role as a police department to build a proper tone and proper relationships on campus.”



Signing the principles, in addition to the JJC Police Department’s new mission and diversity statements adopted earlier this year, demonstrate their pledge to the community and equality.



 “The Shared Principles are truly significant in the sense that the officers really stand behind it,” Campbell said. “It was my idea to adopt the Principles, but it was their idea to make them our diversity statement, so all the credit for taking that extra step goes to them. I hope that the community sees the signing as an example of our commitment to fair and impartial treatment for everyone.”