Police

Established in 1926 as Campus Patrol, today Penn State University Police is responsible for protecting and serving more than 100,000 of Penn State’s students, employees and visitors at 22 campuses located throughout Pennsylvania.

University Police & Public Safety is here to support your learning, teaching, and professional experiences. We conduct our service with the values of the Pennsylvania State University. University Police & Public Safety is one, cohesive department serving 22 campuses across Pennsylvania.

The department provides the following services to our campus community.

Patrols & Escorts - We conduct visible foot, bicycle, and vehicle patrols. In addition, University Police provides an escort service for students, faculty, and staff when requested.

Communication & Engagement - The department continually engages with the campus community via our Community Oriented Policing unit. We also welcome opportunities to work directly with campus faculty & staff and student groups.

Security Assessments - A joint effort between Physical Security, Emergency Management, and our Police division, we can perform a security assessment of your facility, suite, or outdoor spaces. The assessment provides a comprehensive review of the facility and recommendations based on necessary security improvements and enhanced security for consideration.

Emergency Response Planning - The Emergency Management division of our department works directly with campus administrators and staff to establish and document an emergency response plan in the event an emergency should occur. The planning begins after the evacuation of the building and concludes once the campus has completed the recovery phase of the emergency.

Behavioral Threat Management Team - Penn State has established a Behavioral Threat Management Team (BTMT). The objective of the BTMT is to systematically identify, evaluate, and manage potentially threatening situations, including persons of concern, at the University. The multidisciplinary team is composed of people from across the University. In addition to the BTMT at the University Park campus, each Commonwealth campus also has a team responsible for managing concerning situations on their respective campuses.

Formal Training - University Police & Public Safety offers the following in-person training with our Community Oriented Police staff.

• Run, Hide, Fight (Active Attacker Training)
• Safety & Prevention Training
• Duress Alarm Training
• Personal Preparedness

The following can be facilitated with your college, department, or unit.

Drills - This is a coordinated and supervised exercise used to test a single specific operation or function. It involves deployment of equipment and personnel.

Tabletop Exercise - This is a facilitated group analysis of an emergency situation in an informal stress-free environment. It is designed for examination of operational plans, problem identification, and in-depth problem solving.

Functional Exercise - This is a fully simulated interactive exercise that tests the capability of an organization to respond to a simulated event. It takes place in the Emergency Operations Center and focuses on coordination of multiple functions or organizations. This exercise strives for realism and is short of actually deploying equipment and personnel.

Full-Scale Exercise - This is a simulated emergency event, as close to reality as possible. It involves all emergency response functions and requires full deployment of equipment and personnel. (To note, planning efforts for this type of an exercise would take approximately 12 months, from the start to final execution.)

Clery Exercise - This is a year exercise completed with all campuses. The exercises are conducted with campus leadership, as well as their crisis management team to practice emergency situations that fall under the Clery Act. The exercise also generates a physical test of the emergency notification system known as PSUAlert.

Emergency Phones - Emergency phones are deployed as a reliable means for direct communication to the 24/7 University Police Communication Center. Additionally, there are elevator and parking deck emergency phones that are equipped with emergency call buttons.

Duress Alarms - Duress alarm systems are installed in areas where the risk of personal confrontation is heightened because of the nature of the work unit's business and/or other environmental factors. All electronic devices are installed to actuate and transit a "silent" alarm signal to University Police and/or other designated police or security agencies.

Access Control - The University's access control system performs identification and authorization of users to facilities for facility access. This system is also programmed to control the locking and unlocking of University facilities for operational hours.

Video Surveillance - The University utilizes surveillance cameras on University property for the purposes of deterring crime, assisting police in criminal investigations, and protecting the safety and property of the campus community.

University Police & Public Safety stands ready to provide these services to you at your request. Please reach out to us via our website.