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Last Updated 7/9/08

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New Police Chief Sworn In at College
Community policing to be hallmark of campus law enforcement at Compton Center

By Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer

Veteran police chief Michael Trevis was sworn in as the new police chief of El Camino Compton Center on July 1. He replaces former El Camino College Police Chief Michael D’Amico, who died in office after 34 years of service. Chief Stephen Port held the position in the interim.

Trevis will be responsible for public safety at both the Torrance and Compton campuses. A veteran of 30 years in law enforcement, the new chief served as chief of police in the city of Bell. He was also the assistant chief of police in Maywood. Earlier in his career, he held positions in the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Pasadena Unified School District, where he was chief of police.

He joins the El Camino department directly from the position of police chief in the city of Huntington Park.

He began his career as a security agent with the Los Angeles Unified School District, which sponsored him through the Los Angeles Police Academy.

“My first positions in law enforcement were in a specialized police department in schools,” he told The Bulletin. “I believe that the concept of community policing originated in specialized law enforcement. Officers in city police departments spend most of their time fighting fires, so to speak. They respond to calls after events have happened. A specialized police department can focus on prevention and adopt a proactive approach to law enforcement. That’s what I will bring to the Compton campus as well as the Torrance campus of El Camino College.”

Trevis says that he will direct campus police officers to continue “doing what they do best, which is to focus on ensuring the safety of students at the center. It’s difficult to learn when you’re worried about your safety or the security of your possessions.”

Last year, the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) issued a report detailing fraudulent activity at the Compton Community College District. The report took the campus police department to task for lack of proper chain of custody in the collection of evidence and for lax policies regarding outside work performed by campus police officers.

El Camino and the staff and faculty at the Compton Center have been working steadily to eliminate unacceptable practices in all aspects of campus management and administration, including police procedures.

“What I plan to emphasize is safety and protection of students and their property at the Compton campus,” the chief said. “I want to get the students and faculty involved in a campus watch program similar to neighborhood watch. On any campus anywhere, one of the biggest security problems is car theft. Our goal is prevention, and our presence will serve as a deterrence.”

Trevis says that keeping a high profile on campus is an effective crime prevention measure. “Another preventive measure is community policing, and a campus police organization has the time to get to know the students, faculty and staff. When we have the trust of everyone involved with the campus, people will function as our eyes and ears. The most important aspect of community policing is fostering the relationship between the citizens and the police department.”

Collaboration with the Sheriff’s Department and the Compton school police will also be an important part of the overall security strategy at the Compton campus. “I plan to work closely with the sheriffs in Compton and with Chief Hourie Taylor of the school police to keep abreast of anything in the community that will affect security at the college,” he said. “Safety is always a work in progress. There’s no such thing as getting there. We need to be ahead of the game by getting the community to report questionable activity to us.”

Trevis was sworn in by Thomas Fallo, president of El Camino College. “We welcome Chief Trevis to our campus and are sure to benefit from his solid experience in both the educational environment and the community,” he said.

“College campuses are a hub of activity in every community,” said Trevis. “College is the key to quality of life, to people’s hopes and dreams. The college police force is the guardian of those hopes. Our job is to keep a safe environment on campus that will encourage members of the community to continue their education.”