University of Idaho’s campus captain of the Moscow Police Department (MPD) — one of UI’s primary connections to the MPD — is a Vandal himself.
Tyson Berrett graduated from UI in 1996. He worked as a reserve officer until he became a full-time officer in 1997. Berrett worked patrol for five years before he became a detective in 2002. He has worked as captain of the campus branch of the Moscow Police Department since 2006.
“It was a little different,” Berrett said, describing the transition to becoming a detective. “On patrol, typically your calls are done in one or two days. As a detective, they can drag on for weeks, sometimes months, like homicides or rapes or hate crimes, so it takes a little bit of adjustment.”
Cpl. Casey Green said he joined the MPD at approximately the same time as Berrett. Both officers joined the same reserve group, a volunteer service run through the MPD. When they officially joined the force, however, Green went into dispatch while Berrett became a patrol officer. They now work together in the campus division.
Tyson Berrett | Courtesy
“(Berrett) is extremely competent, extremely reliable,” Green said. “He knows the work inside and out. He has great relationships with the prosecutor’s office, campus partners and people in the community. He’s a good resource for the agency in that respect.”
As head of the campus division of MPD, Berrett said he balances his focus between UI and Moscow at large. He oversees two campus police officers, a narcotics detective and three patrol officers.
Berrett mainly works with Dean of Students Blaine Eckles and Vandal Athletics. The campus division also provides sexual assault awareness, risk management and alcohol abuse talks for campus groups.
“I travel with the Vandal football team, we work all the men and women’s home games,” Berrett said. “We work a lot of security details, (such as) Finals Fest. We’re at UI(daho) Bound.”
Berrett said the police department — especially the campus division — focuses more on community involvement, programming and outreach than some community members may think. In addition to monitoring campus, two officers — Rick Whitmore and McKenzie Fosberg — monitor the local secondary schools.
“We want to be approachable,” Berrett said. “Our biggest goal is education to prevent crime, education for those who have committed a crime and are hoping to mitigate that, so safety and education is our big push.”
Berrett said he remained in Moscow after he graduated because he adored how community-oriented the town is. As an Idaho Falls native, the Palouse was a change from the high mountain desert of his childhood. The transition from the independent-natured Idaho Falls to the tight-knit Moscow community made staying worthwhile for Berrett.
“All the (community members come) downtown, especially during the summertime,” Berrett said. “(There’s the) Farmer’s Market, Vandal Friday downtown, Friday Artwalk — you don’t see that at a lot of places, so Moscow, I think the community members really care about each other. You can’t say that in a lot of communities.”
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]