Technician sat down with Chief of Police Jack Moorman and Major David Kelly to discuss the roles of University Police, as well as to obtain words of advice for incoming students.
“Here at NC State we have a full police department here,” Kelly said. “We have primary jurisdiction here on the campus of NC State, so we’d be the ones responding to calls for service or assistance, taking reports, stuff like that.”
NC State’s police department is primarily composed of 54 sworn police officers, who can be seen patrolling campus on horseback, segways, bicycles and in marked police vehicles. The department also includes a training center and its own emergency communication center.
Additional services provided by University Police include:
Engraving of personal items with value such as laptops, Xboxes, bicycles, etc. to aid in theft recovery
Safety programs such as Rape Aggression Defense, alcohol awareness, sexual assault awareness and prevention training
Safety escorts
Beginning at 10 p.m. every night, University Police run an escort vehicle that provides students with a free escort to any location on campus. The escort can be reached through the department’s non-emergency number at 919-515-3000.
“If you are leaving the library late at night, and you don’t feel safe, we certainly want you to take the safety escort service,” Kelly said. “NC State is a safe campus, but crime does occur.”
The most common crimes on any university campus involve theft or alcohol-related citations and arrests, according to Moorman.
In 2014, 466 reports of larceny were reported to University Police, according to the NC State Police Department’s crime report.
“I fully understand that when you are studying, and you are up in the library with seven different classes that are running through your mind, it is easy to say ‘I need to get up and go the bathroom’ and leave your phones and laptops out,” Kelly said. “But, this is a prime opportunity for somebody to come by and take all of those items”.
When a crime does occur on or near campus, the police department sends students, faculty and staff WolfAlerts through email, text messages and bulletin boards across the campus.
The types of WolfAlerts include:
Safety notices, which are issued when a significant event occurs near campus
Crime warnings, which are used by University Police to send information about crimes that have taken place on campus
Timely warning emergency notifications and audible sirens, which are used when an imminent threat, such as extreme weather warnings or an active shooter, are threatening the campus.
“We have sirens that are placed throughout campus,” Kelly said. “For us to activate the siren, it is an imminent threat. If you hear the siren going off, it is something to pay attention to.”
To ensure students are familiar with the system, NC State Police Department tests the sirens the first Monday of every month.
Students are encouraged to call 911 in the case of an emergency. University Police can also be contacted through the blue light emergency phones posted throughout campus, their non-emergency number or through their website where students have the option of remaining anonymous.
“Give us a call and let us know when you see anything suspicious or that you have a concern about,” Moorman said. “If it is something that you have to ask yourself if you should call the police department, go ahead and call us. If we go check it out and it turns out everything is fine, no harm. But if it is a potential for danger, and you don’t call us, you may have missed an opportunity to prevent a crime from occurring.”
Kelly said that the biggest thing for incoming students to know is that University Police is here to provide students with their services.
