As a police officer for more than 10 years, Justin Baum, the officer in charge of the Syracuse Regional Airport Police, has protected people across New York. Now he’s doing that at Hancock International Airport.

“People want to come to the airport because they want to either pick somebody up or go where they’re gonna go," he said. "We’re here to make sure everyone can have that good experience."

Baum says it's a nice change of pace for him.

“It’s nice in the aspect of being able to just have like normal conversations with people and not always have to be in a law enforcement capacity, where you’re issuing tickets all the time or arresting people non-stop," he said.

Baum believes one of the biggest differences in working at an airport is accessibility. While they still have their police power, he says a lot of the job is overseeing the airport and interacting with people who need help.

“In my previous agency, we’d be going from call to call to call for a lot of volatile or active kinetic type situations," Baum said. "Here, that might be less so, but we’re doing a lot more proactive type work here."

While the airport brings new responsibilities and challenges, some things stay the same. Officers can still issue tickets and make arrests when needed but they also oversee the terminal, assist TSA, and answer any questions people may have. However, their powers go beyond the airport.

“Our primary responsibility will be what is airport owned and controlled; however, we have very wide state powers as given to us by the state legislature as police officers like you’d find in any other area," said Baum.

To ensure safety and efficiency, it’s believed, a police department dedicated to an airport is vital.

“You really have to have one in today’s society, not only for the law enforcement aspect but also from your anti-terrorism perspective, and just your ability to connect different people throughout the airport," he said.

Baum sees it as nothing but a positive.

“It can only really benefit the airport and the area that it’s in, because now you’re not having to pull resources from other departments," Baum said. "Now you have a dedicated law enforcement agency here that we can do everything.”