Student safety is the number one priority of every member of the Department of Public Safety (DPS). When we see a pattern of behavior that we feel our community needs to be aware of, we send out informational notices to alert the community. This is why we sent an informational notice campus-wide on Sept. 13 about the burglaries that had been occurring on South campus. We also send out informational notices when we make arrests, like we did recently about an arrest that was made in connection with a burglary incident.
Along with communicating with our community, we increased patrols in the affected areas. In addition to our normal patrol staff that focus on North and South campus, we have the following additional patrols that focus off-campus:
- Orange Watch patrols, focus on expanded DPS presence in key areas on North and South campuses and in the neighborhoods north and east of campus. The program expands DPS peace officers’ hours of armed walking, bicycle and vehicle patrol coverage. It supplements DPS’ and other law enforcement agencies’ current activities in areas frequented by students, faculty and staff.
- The University Area Crime-control Team (UACT) patrols, staffed jointly by DPS and the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) and patrols in the immediate off-campus and fraternity/sorority neighborhoods focused on robbery and burglary suppression. The primary mission of the UACT is to further enhance the safety and security of University community members on campus and in designated areas closest to the University’s campus. Both enforcement agencies patrol areas in the campus area on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
- The Neighborhood Safety Patrol program is a partnership between the residents, the University, and the Syracuse Police Department. The Department of Public Safety designates one or two patrol units to respond to incidents involving Syracuse University students that occur in the patrol area. When necessary, DPS officers will document student violations of the law and the Syracuse University Code of Student Conduct. DPS officers will respond at the request of the Syracuse Police Department officers assigned to the Neighborhood Patrol. DPS also patrols the east neighborhoods, reporting safety issues and suspicious incidents directly to the Syracuse Police Department.
Also, in addition to the over 2,000 cameras and views that we have on campus and swipe card access to the residence halls, we have residential community safety officers (RCSOs) in the entrance of every residence hall to monitor and control access to by checking the identification of all persons entering the residence halls and signing in visitors and guests who are escorted by a hall resident. RCSOs control access to the halls, ensuring that only residents and staff are permitted access to the hall during restricted hours.
There are also a number of services available to our students to help keep them and make them feel safe. Students can call for a safety escort provide by Parking and Transportation Services (315.443.RIDE) and sign up for the Rave Guardian app on their smartphone, which acts as a mobile blue light, allowing them to contact the DPS Emergency Communications Center with the touch of a button and transmit their physical location during the call or report safety tips should they see suspicious activity.
Finally, we encourage all our community members to follow these safety strategies:
- Always lock your doors and windows, even when you are home. When you are not home, make your home look occupied and make sure there is good lighting around your doors for when you return home.
- Be aware of your surroundings! Many crimes occur right under the noses of people who just did not notice anything suspicious. When in question, please report it anyway!
- Do not leave valuables out in the open; when you leave your residence, make sure you secure your belongings so that they are not visible out in the open.
For additional safety strategies, visit our website at dps.syr.edu.
Bobby Maldonado
Chief, Department of Public Safety