Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services (CSEMS) draws together functional areas that have a primary focus on community safety, crisis and emergency response, investigations, and campus law enforcement.
The business unit aligns student safety, security and emergency services, and permits a sharper focus on student interests related to proactive responses to campus and off-campus personal safety issues, crime prevention, and emergency preparedness, response and communication.
Departments
Department of Public Safety
Law Enforcement and Community Policing
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) includes the campus police force serving the Syracuse University campus and University-controlled properties in Syracuse, New York. The Department employs 42 Public Safety Officers and 14 supporting Community Services Officers who are stationed around campus and patrol the surrounding community. Public Safety Officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the DPS emergency call center is also available around the clock to address our community’s safety and security needs. All of DPS’s Public Safety Officers are required to successfully complete a certified campus peace officer or police academy, which includes more than 24 weeks of physical, academic, and practical training, a three-month Field Training Program, and a 13-week evaluation period. Our Public Safety Officers carry firearms when on duty, and complete firearms proficiency training twice every year.
Fire and Life Safety
Fire and Life Safety is responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy environment for the campus community by performing fire safety inspections and audits of student housing facilities, common areas, south campus apartments, academic and administrative buildings, and mechanical spaces in residence halls. Fire and Life Safety also responds to fire alarms on the Syracuse University campus in partnership with the City of Syracuse Fire Department (SFD) which is an Insurance Services Office (ISO) class 1 fire department.
Emergency Management
As a unit in the Department of Public Safety, Emergency Management is responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of policies and programs related to general emergency preparedness and business continuity planning for the University. This includes the coordination and integration of activities necessary to build, sustain and improve the capabilities to prepare for, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against threatened or actual disasters or emergencies impacting campus. Coordination is among University departments, as well as local first responder and emergency support organizations.
Global Safety and Support
With a long-standing commitment to international scholarship and engagement, Syracuse University actively promotes global travel and study beyond our main campus in Central New York. In support of that engagement, a complex world demands thoughtful planning before engagement and diligent preparation to support members of the University community should they experience distress. Global Safety and Support serves as an expert consultant for institutional travelers and assists in preparing constituents to safely pursue scholarship and study both abroad and at University-operated sites in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Further, the department serves as the principal coordinator of University efforts to support faculty, staff, and students that may experience difficulties while pursuing institutional objectives away from the main campus.
Video Access Security Technology Team (VASTT)
The Video Access Security Technology Team (VASTT) coordinates the installation, maintenance, and operation of a variety of specific forms of campus security technology. This includes the campus-wide Video Security System (VSS) and the Electronic Card Access System. Additionally, the team supports the Public Safety Officer and Parking Attendant Body-Worn Camera program and other Information Technology projects for the division. The VASTT mission is to support the safety and security of the campus community by implementing cost-effective, efficient, and state-of-the-art security technology systems.