"[The guards] are the eyes and ears of the police," Kotowski says
And, though some at HUPD admit that there have been "growing pains" as the guards learn the ropes around campus, they say security is still better than it was.
"Safety and security have not been compromised, to the contrary it has been improved," Kotowski says. "All the sites are manned."
Still, not everyone in HUPD agrees with this assessment.
"It's not going to happen overnight, but at some point the University's going to realize the vast disservice it did to the campus," one HUPD officer says.
Riley says he's taking the allegations seriously, and will continue to evaluate the SSI guards' performance.
"Am I concerned about security?" he asks. "I'm always concerned about security. T hat's my job."