Marcus Guess Named Chief of Police at Tri-County Technical College
CONTACT: MARCUS GUESS, mguess@tctc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/2/2020
(By Lisa Garrett)
PENDLETON --- Marcus Guess joined Tri-County Technical College in February as Chief of Police. He leads all law enforcement personnel at each of Tri-County’s community campuses.
Chief Guess, who has worked in law enforcement for 16 and one-half years, spent the last decade at Albany State University Police Department, where he served in various capacities -- most recently as interim chief of police for the last six months.
He rose through the ranks at Albany State as a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and assistant chief of police. Other roles with the university’s police department included traffic supervisor, chief investigator, internal affairs investigator, training coordinator and lead sexual assault investigator.
His other law enforcement experience includes working at the Georgia Department of Corrections, where he was a member of the Tactical Squad/Hostage Rescue Unit. He also has worked at the Adel Police Department and the Florida Department of Corrections.
He earned an associate of arts in criminal justice (2008) and a bachelor of science in criminal justice administration (2010) from the University of Phoenix. He holds a master’s degree in public safety administration from Columbus State University (2018) and graduated from the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College Columbus State University in 2018.
Over the years Chief Guess earned the following Georgia Law Enforcement Advanced Certifications: Marijuana Examiner, FTO (Field Training Officer), General Instructor, ALERRT Instructor (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training), and CRASE Instructor (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events).
He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police and Georgia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
Chief Guess said when he began to research career opportunities, he saw the opening at Tri-County and was attracted to the College’s connection to the community.
“Working in college law enforcement gives me a chance to make a difference in the lives of our students,” he said. “You really get to know them and I love working in a community-oriented police setting.” He added that he “immediately picked up on a friendly, welcoming vibe” during his interview.
Although he has been on the job less than a month, in addition to introducing himself to faculty, staff and students and getting acclimated in his new role, he is looking ahead to pursuing accreditation for the department. Advantages to accreditation include availability of funding, as well as the opportunity to attracting better officers. “It will take time and a lot of work but it is worth it,” he said.
Pursuing accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) demonstrates that a department has met specific standards of excellence and operates according to norms established by state and national law enforcement practitioners.
Chief Guess lives in Anderson and has two children.
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