Prue named Chief of Police

Within Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s Police, Security, Safety and Parking Department, six special state police officers (SSPOs) make up our on-site police station. Security Operations Manager and SSPO Stewart Prue has recently been named Chief of Police. In this new role, he will oversee the entire SSPOs’ program. This entails training and yearly in-services as well as submitting the necessary monthly reports. Prue is also the main point of contact for other police agencies and works with our own E-5 District.

To become an SSPO, a candidate must have taken the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety Basic and Advanced training and have at least an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice. They can then attend the reserve intermittent police academy. There they must complete a six-month program with classes three nights a week and all day Saturday. Course work includes classes in criminal law, constitutional law, motor vehicle law, domestic violence, first responder training and defensive tactics, as well as topics like dealing with the elderly and people with special needs and field sobriety.

SSPOs have the power of arrest on property. Here at BWFH, where patient and staff safety is always a top priority, having SSPOs on duty adds a layer of security. Prue says, “We very rarely arrest patients or visitors, but it’s good to have the capability should we need to do it.”

For Prue, who has been an SSPO since 2015, being named Chief of Police is an honor. “It’s an extension of my SSPO responsibilities,” he says. “I am proud to maintain the highest level of public safety for BWFH.”