Police and Public Safety

Department of Police and Public Safety

Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day

Law Enforcement

Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day was action-packed and kid-approved

lclarkg — Thu, 07 May 2026 13:43:32 +0000

Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day was action-packed and kid-approved lclarkg Thu, 05/07/2026 - 09:43

Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day is an annual tradition at 911��. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

911�� welcomed 262 “Junior Patriots” and their families for Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day at the Fairfax and Mason Square campuses on April 23. The day kicked off with music and dancing by the Green Machine, a visit from the Patriot mascot, and the Junior Patriot Palooza on Merten Lawn, hosted by Human Resources.

The Touch a Truck event is always a hit. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

With 45 hands-on activities, junior Patriots visited campus departments and offices to explore robotics, emergency preparedness, and video game design, watched K-9 and drone demonstrations from 911�� Police, and took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Center for the Arts.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Active events included blending smoothies on Mason Dining’s blender bike, and climbing aboard fire, police, and SWAT vehicles at the popular Touch a Truck event.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Creativity and play took center stage with crafts, pickleball, story time with University Libraries, scavenger hunts, mock courtroom visits, dance classes, lawn games, and more—offering a dynamic mix of learning, movement, and fun.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Thank you to the campus partners whose creativity and commitment made the day such a success.

Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day will return on Thursday, April 22, 2027. Interested in hosting an activity? Contact engagehr@gmu.edu.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Storytime on the plaza at Mason Square. Photo provided

911�� Police shared a drone demonstration at Mason Square. Photo provided

Moot Court at Mason Square. Photo provided

More about Take Your Junior Patriot to Work Day

Topics

Human Resources

Mason Square

Department of Police and Public Safety

911�� provides soft interview room to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence

lclarkg — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:55:26 +0000

911�� provides soft interview room to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence lclarkg Wed, 07/09/2025 - 13:55

The 911�� Police Department recently installed a soft interview room on campus to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. With support from Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission, a nonprofit organization, the soft interview room provides a critical component of trauma informed care to the campus community.

Unlike a typical police interview room, a soft interview room incorporates gentle lighting, comfortable furniture, and calming decor to help interviewees feel safe and at ease.

Soft interview room. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“This room will allow us to better understand and recognize the signs of trauma and how that may show up in individuals,” said Chelsey Ellard, director of threat assessment and intelligence analysis with 911�� Police. “Soft interview rooms really do make a difference for these types of investigations and can give officers a better opportunity to find justice.”

Trauma informed care is an approach used across a range of settings, including health care, social services, law enforcement, and education. The soft interview room will provide a more comfortable setting for interviewees to recall and share traumatic experiences.

The 911�� Police Department was in the early stages of planning to implement a soft interview room when Ellard came upon the opportunity to collaborate with Project Beloved. Ellard learned about the nonprofit while attending training with the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. Project Beloved partners with law enforcement agencies across the United States to install soft interview rooms.

Ellard immediately reached out to Project Beloved. The project was approved and placed on a one-year waiting list. The organization designed and provided everything in the space at no cost to the university, and this June, the soft interview room on 911��’s campus was completed.

Small touches in the design of the space are meant to remind survivors of their worth. Each room includes a mirror next to a small canvas sign, which says "You Are Beloved." The message encourages survivors to remember those words as they look at their reflections.

The soft interview room at 911�� is the 134th room to be installed by Project Beloved. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Project Beloved was founded by Tracy Matheson, a former Fairfax County Public Schools teacher, after her daughter, Molly Jane, was a victim of sexual assault and homicide at age 22. The mission of Project Beloved is to educate, advocate, and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voices.

The new soft interview room at 911�� will help the campus police do that.

”Officers stay connected with victims throughout the investigation and court process,” said Ellard. “The soft interview room will allow officers and victims to immediately develop that bond and allow victims to feel empowered to find their voice.”

Project Beloved has also installed a soft interview room at Virginia Military Institute—the only other institution of higher education to offer one in Virginia—and at 10 law enforcement agencies throughout the commonwealth.

Overall, 911�� is the 134th room to be installed by the organization.

Patriots Thriving Together

Topics

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Well-Being

Sit! Stay! Buzz?

Jennifer Pocock — Thu, 29 May 2025 14:56:51 +0000

Sit! Stay! Buzz? Jennifer Pocock Thu, 05/29/2025 - 10:56

These 911�� students are short-circuiting voice commands, dog whistles, and clickers.

Covert Dog Comms Team Leader Paul J. Wyche displays their finished prototype at the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) Celebration. Photo by John Boal

If you’ve had a puppy, you probably know the patience it takes to train them in basic commands, and it can be a noisy affair involving begging, pleading, and some yelling. Working dogs like those in police and military K9 units need to learn so much more.

Sometimes, they need to obey without hearing a word.

Rescue situations can be chaotic, with so much going on that a command gets lost in the noise. Sometimes, a team of dogs need to hear many different commands, and competing voices are confusing. Other times, operation teams need to go radio silent and any noise at all will give their positions away.

Enter Team Covert Dog Comms. This pack of cybersecurity seniors at 911��, all of whom graduated in May, sniffed out a way to direct dogs without barking commands.

Together, they became the dream team that was the envy of anyone who has ever worked on a bad group project—and proof that great leadership combined with a passionate team yields amazing results.

“Working with this team has been a very positive experience. One key factor that made it successful was the balance of specialized skill sets,” said team leader Paul J. Wyche, who also recently spoke at his College of Engineering and Computing graduation. “While some of our backgrounds overlapped, each team member had a distinct area of expertise, allowing us to overcome any obstacle and collaborate effectively.”

Those members were Maxime Bonnaud, who specialized in the vest’s wireless and cryptographic security; Jonathan Perry, who designed the hardware; and AJ Hoepfner, who set up testing standards and regulations, along with assisting Wyche with project management.

“Mostly, what made this team great was good execution on the fundamentals,” said Bonnaud. “Everyone showed up, communicated well, and looked for areas they could work on instead of having to be assigned work.”

The end result was a securely encrypted working prototype of a vest that can be programmed with three different vibrating pattern commands that a dog can be trained to obey. While they were unable to find a working dog to test on, the team tested the vest on themselves and found it to work as intended.

When asked whether the team planned to patent or commercialize the vest, Wyche said that they wouldn’t rule it out. “We haven’t formally discussed commercializing the project. However, if the opportunity arises and we receive the necessary support, we may explore those possibilities.”

Until then, they achieved their goal of making “a fully operational haptic vest that could be refined for real-world use in special operations.”

And that is something to howl about.

Topics

Senior Capstone Project

Cybersecurity

Military

911�� Police help emergency efforts and assess storm damage from Hurricane Helene

lclarkg — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 15:17:31 +0000

911�� Police help emergency efforts and assess storm damage from Hurricane Helene lclarkg Thu, 10/03/2024 - 11:17

911�� Police’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) teams supported the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) deployment to Appalachian Power in Ivanhoe, Virginia, over the weekend. The primary mission at Ivanhoe—between Carroll and Wythe counties—was to inspect two dams, built in 1912 and 1913, as well as the power distribution lines affiliated with them.

Record precipitation and the effects of Hurricane Helene caused the second highest water level and flow on the New River since 1940, exceeding the design basis for the dams. The power lines are difficult to access from the ground, but the Mason Police drones flew above and across mountains, following the power lines so that engineers could watch the livestream and assess possible damage.

The drone deployment by Mason Police helped Appalachian Power ensure the integrity of the facilities more safely and efficiently.

“This storm has impacted all Virginians, and 911�� is always ready and willing to lend a helping hand,” said Michael Lighthiser, the deputy chief who oversees Mason Police’s Special Operations, Research and Training Unit. “We have some very special capabilities, and we are proud to be able to help our fellow Virginians to safely get back on their feet in the aftermath of such a devastating storm. It’s the right thing to do.”

911�� Police Corporal Blaine Ries (left) delivered a Starlink satellite internet system to the Asheville Police Department to help restore communications to their headquarters after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Photo provided

After returning from the drone mission, Mason Police answered another call for assistance from the path of Hurricane Helene. With all communications service lost in Asheville, North Carolina, after devastating and deadly flooding, the Asheville Police Department requested a Starlink system to restore cell and internet service at their headquarters. The Mason Police have Starlink systems available, which provide high-speed satellite internet access.

Mason Police Corporal Blaine Ries hurried into his Starlink-equipped drone truck and headed to Asheville. To get there, he needed to drive through Tennessee and approach from the south in order to avoid the worst of the devastating storm damage. Arriving shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 1, he quickly set up the Starlink, giving the Asheville police the communication access needed to coordinate their rescue and emergency management activities.

911�� Police’s drone teams have been an important resource for other jurisdictions, providing aerial support and training to other agencies. In late July, at the request of the Virginia Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, Mason Police taught a weeklong drone class to more than 20 police and fire department agencies in southwest Virginia to help them start the process of launching drone teams.

“I am very proud that the 12 members of our UAS team are always ready and willing to deploy, at a moment’s notice, anytime their unique capabilities are needed to enhance the public safety of our community and beyond,” said Carl Rowan, 911�� chief of police.

Mason Police includes more than 135 full and part-time personnel including more than 50 sworn police officers who provide services to the Fairfax, Mason Square, and SciTech campuses. The department maintains a close working relationship with the Virginia State Police and the police departments of the City of Fairfax, Arlington, Fairfax County, and Prince William County.

Topics

Department of Police and Public Safety

Unmanned Aerial Systems drones

Emergency Management

Drones

The wheels on the bus go round and round, thanks to Mason’s transit drivers

lclarkg — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:26:27 +0000

The wheels on the bus go round and round, thanks to Mason’s transit drivers lclarkg Thu, 03/21/2024 - 09:26

Catch a Mason Shuttle

Topics

Around Mason (E-Files)

Parking and Transportation

Picture This

Child Development Center

Mason Shuttles