Types of Officers

Department of Public Safety Officers

PSOs public safety officer

Public Safety Officers (PSOs)

CSO Service officer

Community Service Officers (CSOs)

  • CSOs wear a French blue uniform shirt with navy blue uniform pants and a distinctive USC Department of Public Safety shoulder patch.
  • CSOs are unarmed, receive the security guard-level training required by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (CA BSIS) and exceed it through in-service training on topics such as de-escalation, defensive driving, first aid/CPR, and more, and have security guard-level authority.

Department of Public Safety Uniformed Civilian Personnel/Volunteers

PSD dispatchers

Public Safety Dispatchers (PSDs)

  • PSDs wear a gray polo shirt with USC Department of Public Safety · Communications Division embroidered on the left chest, as well as black uniform pants.
  • PSDs are civilian employees.
SOM officer

Surveillance Operations Monitors (SOMs)

  • SOMs wear a gray polo shirt with USC Department of Public Safety · Surveillance Operations embroidered on the left chest, as well as black uniform pants.
  • SOMs are civilian employees.
Cadets

Law Enforcement Cadets

  • Cadets are youth volunteers who wear a black polo with cadet written on the back.
  • Cadets are youth volunteers.

Contracted Uniformed Security

CSC officer

Allied Universal Security (AUS) – “Yellow Jackets”

  • Allied Ambassadors wear a red and yellow jacket with USC AMBASSADOR embroidered on the back, as well as black uniform pants.
  • Allied Ambassadors are not USC DPS employees; they are contracted employees who work for Allied Universal Security (AUS). Their duty is to observe and report any incidents to USC DPS.