St. Petersburg College launches its own police department

After extensive planning, St. Petersburg College has officially launched its own police department. For Chief Andrew MacPherson, it’s a way to build trust. 

A ceremonial swearing-in took place earlier this month. 

“I’ve worked at several colleges where we had sworn law enforcement and I realized the benefit,” MacPherson explained to the Catalyst. “Our local partners are busy. We get to focus on the students and we know our students.” 

MacPherson is also SPC’s associate vice president of safety, security and emergency management. He has served in the role since 2024. While MacPherson has been involved in higher education security for over 20 years, he began his career as a reserve Deputy Sheriff in Texas. MacPherson also worked for a couple municipal police departments. 

The St. Petersburg College Police Department will work in collaboration with Campus Security, he explained. It will not replace existing operations. Currently, the education institution employs approximately 30 security officers. These include non-armed and armed individuals. 

“They are ingrained in our campuses,” MacPherson said. “They will continue to do their roles, such as working with the campus community, doing unlocks and taking minor reports. Just now, when we have criminal reports, they can turn that over to us and we can walk the students through those things. We like to say that security supports law enforcement, but in our area, we are kind of a support to them.” 

Currently, MacPherson and Deputy Chief Tracy Smith are overseeing police operations at SPC’s main campuses, in partnership with Campus Security staff members. They hope to hire five sworn Police Department officers within the next year, “budget willing.” 

House Bill 757, which passed in May, also was a factor in the Police Department’s creation. According to the Florida Department of Education, the “legislation expands key safety and security measures to the state’s colleges and universities.” 

The law “requires public postsecondary institutions to develop active assailant response plans” and “threat management teams to identify and address potential safety risks and family reunification procedures in the event of an emergency.” 

“It requires a law enforcement officer to be on those threat teams,” MacPherson explained. “While we have great partners, we just wanted to have that law enforcement officer be somebody that knows the campus and has access to the internal information. Being sworn also gives us access to information we just don’t have as security officers. We can look at backgrounds and other law enforcement activity.” 

He added that the St. Petersburg College Police Department will provide extensive training. This can give force members an expertise in “emergency management.” Crime prevention will also be essential. 

Behavioral issues at SPC’s public libraries have been an ongoing concern, MacPherson said. As a result, Campus Security has had to call local law enforcement to remove offenders and issue criminal trespass notices. This challenge will be another key focus. 

In October 2025, MacPherson and his team received permission from the SPC Board of Trustees to explore the idea of creating a police department. This summer, the Board officially approved the force. 

“Our students deserve to learn in an environment where they feel safe, supported and able to focus on achieving their goals,” said SPC president Dr. Tonjua Williams in a statement prepared for the Catalyst. “Establishing the SPC Police Department is an investment in our students, our employees and the communities we serve. This department will allow us to build on the strong foundation of our Campus Security team while providing an even greater level of service, protection and connection across our campuses.”