It is the goal of AACC Public Safety and Police to do everything possible to create an environment where people can feel safe to learn, work and visit. We believe that one way to help create such an environment is to fully inform the campus population about issues, campus policies regarding safety and security, and the services that your campus Public Safety and Police department provides.
The Department of Public Safety and Police prepares the Annual Security Report and distributes the report in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Paper copies are available at the DPSP office in Arnold. The report is also available online.
AACC’s police officers are empowered by state law to make arrests, investigate crimes and carry firearms. The college's special police personnel are commissioned by Maryland's governor as special police officers and have full authority to make arrests, conduct investigations and otherwise enforce the law on all property owned or operated by the college.
Officers are formally trained and patrol the college responding to calls for service to include crimes and emergencies. They are certified in basic first aid, CPR and AED. Officers work closely with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department to promote personal safety.
The officers have primary responsibility for campus security and safety. Officers patrol the campus by motor vehicle and bicycle, as well as on foot. The officers have legal authority under Maryland law to demand identification and evidence of qualification from any person who desires to use or enter the college property. They may deny access to buildings and grounds to persons who trespass, disrupt or disturb the normal educational functions of the institution.
The Department of Public Safety and Police has a good working relationship with the Anne Arundel County Police Department and has a Memorandum of Understanding with them for the investigation of alleged criminal offenses occurring on college property. The college encourages accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes to the Department of Public Safety and Police at 410-777-1818.
Below you can find out more about members of our public safety and police command staff.
Sean Kapfhammer joined the college on June 1, 2016. He began his law enforcement career with the Baltimore Police Department in 1990. While there, he served in a leadership position overseeing operational, investigative, administrative and tactical assignments.
During his 21-year career, Kapfhammer served as a commander of the Southwest District Operations Section, the Westside Special Enforcement Team and the Southern District Major Crimes section. He received numerous awards and citations, including the Medal of Honor and the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Heroes Award.
After retiring, Kapfhammer was appointed chief of police of the Carroll Township Police Department in York County, Pa.
Prior to coming to AACC, Kapfhammer was deputy director of Public Safety for campus police at Loyola University Maryland.
Kapfhammer is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where he received bachelor's and master’s degrees in management. He also graduated from numerous leadership schools including Northwestern University, Penn State, Southern Police Institute and FBI-LEEDA.
He is a certified local emergency management coordinator and has completed the requirements for his basic, advanced and professional certifications in that field from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
Dave Pressley joined the college on Dec. 01, 2014. He began his law enforcement career with the Anne Arundel County Police Department in 1980. While there he served in a number of positions before becoming a deputy chief. During his 32 years with the department, he worked in the functional areas of patrol operations, district detectives, intelligence and narcotics investigations. He served as a commander of the Special Operations section, Training Academy, Eastern District, Criminal Investigations Division and the Field Operations Bureau. Pressley also worked for the Maryland Judiciary prior to joining AACC.
Pressley is a graduate of the University of Maryland, University College, and Prince George's Community College. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management studies and an Associate of Arts in law enforcement. He has received specialized police management and leadership training from the Maryland Police and Corrections Training Commission and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Gary Vernon joined the college on July 1, 2011. He began his law enforcement career on Dec. 31, 1979, with the Harford County Sheriff’s Department. While there he filled a number of positions within the agency before retiring as a captain. During his 30-year tenure with the sheriff’s department, he worked in the functional areas of corrections, patrol, criminal investigations, special operations, court services and administrative services.
Vernon is a graduate of the University of Baltimore and the University of Phoenix. He holds a master’s degree in organizational management and bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
In 2017, Vernon received the Public Safety Officer of the Year award from the North Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce. He also received the department's Commendation Award in 2015 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2012, 2017, 2022 and 2023.
Joseph Donato joined the college on June 16, 2017. He began his law enforcement career with the Baltimore Police Department. During his 23-year tenure in Baltimore he served in uniformed patrol, operations units including Flex and Drug Enforcement, as a robbery detective and was promoted to sergeant in 2008.
Donato graduated from Calvert Hall High School with honors, obtained his Associate of Arts degree in criminal justice from Essex Community College, then a Bachelor of Arts in history at UMBC.
Donato has 14 commendations from his time with the Baltimore Police Department, including two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars for Valor, two Departmental Commendations, two Unit Citations, the Gun Award and numerous others, including a Federal Disarm Award.
Keith Cochran joined the college on July 16, 2012, as a public safety officer. In 2022, after working nine years in patrol, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned as the midnight shift commander. Cochran is a certified bike patrol officer and field training officer. He is also a member of the department's Color Guard unit.
Cochran received an Associate of Applied Science in law enforcement and criminal justice degree from Anne Arundel Community College. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Salisbury College.
In 2016, Cochran received the Public Safety Officer of the Year award from the North Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce. He also received the department's Distinguished Service Award in 2020, Commendation Award in 2017, Outstanding Service Award in 2015 and 2013, and the AACC Student Government Association's Outstanding Service Award in 2018. Cochran earned the department's Community Service Award in 2020 and the Perfect Attendance Award in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2024, Cochran was awarded the prestigious League of Innovation for Community College Excellence in Leadership Award.
Stephen Shepet joined the college on Dec. 16, 1997, as a public safety officer. In 2004, after seven years in patrol, he was promoted to corporal and became the midnight shift commander. In 2013, he was promoted to sergeant and continued to lead the midnight shift for another nine years. In 2022, after serving 24 years in patrol, Shepet was assigned to be the department's Administrative Services manager. In this position he assumed the roles of the accreditation manager, training coordinator, property custodian and technology officer.
Shepet received an Associate of Applied Science in law enforcement and criminal justice, an Associate of Applied Science in business management, an Associate of Arts in general studies and academic certificates in business management and criminal justice from Anne Arundel Community College. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in liberal arts from Excelsior College.
In 2014, Shepet received the Public Safety Officer of the Year award from the North Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce. He also received the department's Commendation Award in 2017; the Distinguished Service Award in 2015 and 2017; and the Director's Award of Excellence, the Community Service Award and the department's Outstanding Service Award. In 2020, Shepet was awarded the prestigious League of Innovation for Community College Excellence in Leadership Award.
Arlene Crow joined the college in 2018 as an adjunct instructor and was selected for the role of the college’s first emergency manager on Jan. 15, 2019. Additionally, she is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) instructor and a first aid and Stop the Bleed instructor.
Crow began her career in emergency management and response as a firefighter/EMT for the City of Lakeland, Fla. Following the attacks on 9/11, she retired from the fire department and went to work for the Florida Department of Health as the manager of Emergency Operations in Orlando. Crow’s primary responsibility was to develop a counter-bioterrorism plan for the Central Florida area. In 2009, Forbes magazine rated the Orlando/Orange County, Fla., area ninth in the nation for bioterrorism preparedness. In 2012, Crow was tasked with leading an emergency planning and response team in the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Administration (HEPRA) for the District of Columbia, which brought her to Maryland.
Crow became a DHS- and FEMA-certified instructor for multiple topics including incident command, hospital emergency response, weapons of mass destruction awareness and biological response. She was an adjunct instructor for both the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. She has also trained with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick. Crow holds a master's degree from American Military University in Disaster and Emergency Response, as well as a certificate as a Homeland Security Specialist from LSU.
In 2024, Crow received the department's Distinguished Service Award for her outstanding leadership and coordination of the campuswide lockdown drill events.
If you would like to appeal a traffic or parking citation you received, you must complete an online appeal. Appeal requests must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the violation. All traffic and parking citation appeals can be submitted to the Traffic/Parking Citation Appeal Form.
For information visit AACC's Traffic and Parking Regulations.
On Sept. 26, 2008, the Anne Arundel Community College Department of Public Safety received its initial accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), becoming the first community college in the country to do so.
The achievement of accreditation for the department has resulted in improvements in structure, leadership, organization, general direction and accountability. The process of intensive self-assessment has united the department in its commitment to serve the college community through well-written policies and procedures, objective management and conscious recognition of the need for public safety professionalism.
In October 2019, after a lengthy process, the college's Department of Public Safety and Police successfully attained its third reaccreditation.
For information contact Sgt. Stephen Shepet, AACC DPSP accreditation manager.
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