Maximizing use of funds is key for Goff project, other efforts, Williams says

Claflin Police Chief Melvin Williams answers questions from Panther reporters on March 26.

Claflin Police Chief Melvin Williams emphasized that he and his team will always “provide the greatest level of security that [they] can to keep anything from happening that could’ve been prevented.” 

Williams, executive director of public safety and emergency preparedness, was interviewed on March 26 by Claflin reporters. He described the goal of public safety and security on campus.  

“Our mission every day is to provide a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors to be able to live, work and play.”

“It can be considered the greatest university around, it can have the greatest programs around, but if a place is not safe, or if there is a fear of safety, then everything else doesn’t matter,” he said.

Williams said his team upholds its mission through daily dedication to safety.  

“We are on the ground. Our team is here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We never go home,” Williams said. “We are here when school is out, on holidays, during weather emergencies ... it is [our] commitment to the students at Claflin.” 

Williams provided an update on Claflin’s safety following last semester’s homecoming events. “I am very pleased to say that we’ve been successful. God has blessed us, that we have not had any major issues.” 

Williams implemented changes to ensure the safety of faculty, staff and students remained consistent. One included increasing safety in the Jonas T. Kennedy gym parking lot.  

“We took some additional efforts to try to prevent [break-ins] from happening. We increased our patrols in the parking lots during the hours that those things were occurring,” Williams said.  

These efforts resulted in zero incidents as of last semester.  

Additionally, Williams was recently assigned to the Goff Avenue project, which is meant to improve safety on Goff Street by limiting access now that a section of the street is part of the Claflin campus. The plan is to have the project completed by August. 

“Goff Avenue will be blocked off with automatic arms, and students, faculty and staff will be able to use their IDs or a key fob to get through,” Williams said. “If someone is not able to get in, they will have to buzz in on a video box to public safety. There will still be a second gate after the automatic arms.” 

Williams said the new system will allow officers on campus to better control the traffic on Goff Avenue.  

The problem he and his team face with the plan is funding.  

“We are slowed down on what we want to do and put in place by the lack of funding. As a private institution, everything that we do, we have to rely on tuition dollars,” Williams said. 

To combat this, parking regulations are enforced at Claflin. Cars without a valid permit or parked in spaces where they are not supposed to be will be given a citation. After three citations, the car will be booted.  

“To remove a boot is $100, the cost of parking in a reserved space is $30. It will be towed if a student refuses to move, or they don’t show up in 24 hours,” Williams said. “Parking in a handicap zone is $150, the highest amount." 

Claflin students are given various warnings before these actions are carried out. Such warnings include phone calls from officers, emails with citation evidence and short grace periods.  

Funding from parking enforcement is rolled back into helping Claflin obtain the safety equipment it needs. Williams has worked hard to use protocols such as this to improve the campus's safety experience. 

“One of the things that I’ve learned in my many, many, many years of being in law enforcement … ihow to take the resources that I have and sometimes reallocate those resources to get some of the things that we need. I work very hard to do that.”