ABOUT US
Foothill-De Anza Community College Police Officers have full peace officer powers anywhere in the State of California and have completed a series of tests and education mandated by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training and must maintain annual training to remain certified.
Our team of Police Officers, Community Service Officers (CSO's), Police Student Aids (PSA's) and police staff offer a wide range of services to the campus community. Some services include providing and presenting crime prevention information, college outreach programs, patrolling campuses and parking lots, proactive crime suppression, investigating all offenses that occur on the campuses, and informing campus users of the occurrence of crimes specified by federal statute.
From time to time, FHDA Police Officers also provide mutual aid to other agencies such as the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Los Altos Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and other agencies.
Our Officers have the responsibility of investigating felony and misdemeanor crimes occurring on both the Foothill and De Anza campuses. They work closely with allied agencies to identify suspects and crime trends. They also concentrate on violence against women and sexual assaults that occur on both the campuses as well as being responsible for the Sex Offender Registrant Program and work closely with the Department of Justice and the local District Attorney. Additionally, our officers receive various types of in-service and continuing professional training related to the specific needs of the campus on an ongoing basis.
The Foothill-De Anza Community College District Police Department became a full-service, California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) recognized law enforcement agency in 2001. Prior to 2001, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills and De Anza College in Cupertino, maintained separate departments. While Foothill had POST certified, armed, uniformed officers, De Anza only had unarmed officers, who wore polo shirts and slacks. With changes in the law and events that had occurred on the campuses, the college district decided to combine their resources and provide full police services to the students, faculty and staff of both campuses.
Message from the Chief, January 2023
Dear FHDA Family,
We are disheartened and disturbed at what we have observed in Memphis. I wholeheartedly support Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis in her words and actions. These former police officers have no business in this profession. The violence and behavior is inexcusable and goes against the tremendous work and service of building trust between law enforcement and our diverse communities.
The FHDA police department does not tolerate any form of police misconduct. We believe in dignity and transparency for all. Moving forward as we continue to listen and understand the needs of everyone in our community, we focus to find ways to bridge the gap and be a part of the solution.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Chief Danny Acosta
Message from the Chief, May 2021
Dear FHDA Family,
A little, over a year and a half ago, I sent a letter after the Gilroy Garlic Festival
shooting and today I write a similar letter. As most of you may know by now, another
shooting occurred Wednesday morning at 6:34 AM, at the Santa Clara County VTA light
rail transit yard. Nine innocent individuals were killed and taken from their families.
Officers and other first responders from multiple agencies responded to the scene
in an effort to end and minimize the tragic event. The lives of many have been and
will forever be affected. My sincere condolences to the families and friends of the
victims. Personally knowing people who work for the VTA and many of the officers who
responded to the shooting, reminds me how quickly our lives can change wherever you
may be.
With the identification of the victims, I am certain some within our FHDA community
could very well be affected by this tragic incident in more ways than they initially
thought. As a reminder, the District has great resources should you or someone else
need counseling through employee benefits or Student Services at both colleges (see
links below). Please take care of yourself and each other by using these resources
or at the very least, reach out to one another.
Our responsibility as employees of the District’s Police Department is to keep our
community safe. To that end, we continue to work with many partners within and outside
of our FHDA community. Our environment is a soft target for this type incident. Working
together, we do whatever we can to ensure that we can at least recognize our vulnerabilities
and prepare the best we can. Your police department already has training scheduled
during the summer break. Included in the training schedule is active shooter training
sponsored by UCSC PD at UCSC, which has proved to be one of the best in the business.
Preparing through training is all of our responsibilities, it may not be what we want
to do but the reality is that it is a necessary task. If you have not participated
in some available training, within FHDA or in the broader community, think about doing
so. Please take the time to review “Run Hide Defend” on the FHDA Police website (see
link below). While most of us do not remember all of the points at training sessions,
anything learned is a step towards surviving an event like this. In addition to training,
our leadership is committed to everyone’s safety. Safety assessments and discussions
go on throughout the year. The purpose of continued assessments is to provide recommendations
in any form, be it designs, policy or actions. The District Police Department is
here to support you and your activities on campus and we would ask that you consider
us both a resource and a partner.
I would also like to commend the officers and other first responders who moved quickly
to end the tragedy, ensuring more innocent lives were not taken. As mentioned by many, this event could have easily
been much worse were it not for their actions.
Your officers wear the FHDA uniform proudly as they continue to keep the FHDA community safe every day of the year. Lastly, please keep the families and friends of the nine victims in your thoughts.
Take care of yourselves and each other. Have a safe and wonderful day,
Chief Danny Acosta
https://police.fhda.edu/_about-us/g-training.html
https://hr.fhda.edu/benefits/_eap.html
https://www.deanza.edu/psychologicalservices/
https://foothill.edu/psychservices/