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Those learning, working and who otherwise find themselves on any of the four Walters State Community College campuses should feel a bit safer these days. The college’s campus police just earned themselves top honors during the 19^th Annual Law Enforcement Challenge, sponsored by the Tennessee Highway Patrol Safety Office.

In order to grab the statewide award, recipients must prove themselves worthy in several factors, foremost being the consistent efforts to promote driving safety on campus grounds.

“Our four campuses are among the safest in the state due to the efforts of our campus police officers,” said Dr. Tony Miksa, President of Walters State. “I see the hard work of our officers every day, and I am very pleased to see their efforts recognized by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.”

Those who win this award are critiqued on additional factors like the quality of regular reports, policies in place for speed detection along with other enforcement areas. Also on the list of criteria is the quality of the department’s traffic education and awareness efforts, according to Sgt. Corey Stapleton with the WSCC Campus Police.

The men and women who don the blue on college campuses are certified through the Peace Officer’s Standards & Training Commission. These officers have full arrest and investigative powers on their respective campuses.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security which advocates for traffic safety.