Empowered by the State of Illinois, and appointed by the NIU Board of Trustees, NIU’s Department of Police and Public Safety officers have the same powers as city police officers and county deputy-sheriffs. Their duties are primarily limited to the campus and include the authority to assist with emergencies, investigate crimes, make arrests, and file police reports. All officers in the Department of Police and Public Safety are currently certified, or will be certified, as Emergency Medical Technicians. NIU Police has a varying number of paramedics. Officers patrol the campus 24 hours a day.
Emergency assistance call boxes are conveniently located throughout campus in well-lighted areas for requesting emergency assistance and for alerting the NIU Police of a crime or suspicious activity. Boxes allow persons to simply open the call box and pick up a phone to immediately be in contact with the NIU Police. The same applies for all emergency call boxes, handsets, or intercoms in the campus elevators – as they are programmed to automatically call the NIU Police. Also available is a 24-hour-a-day 911 service. The service provides prompt access to police, fire, and medical services.
NIU encourages individuals to report all crimes to the NIU Police and police agencies with jurisdiction in an accurate and timely manner. NIU provides several ways to report crimes or other emergencies to the NIU Police or obtain help. It is the university’s policy that NIU community members should file a report whenever they observe anything suspicious, believe they have discovered a crime, or come across a hazard which could cause harm to them or others.
Special Note: Due to regional telephone system requirements, special dialing may be required depending on the type of phone being used to call from. For on-campus system phones out-calling only (i.e., from 753-**** and 752-**** exchanges), one CANNOT dial 1+10 digits to other campus system numbers, like 753-1212. It will be blocked. However, from cellular phones and other off-campus numbers, one MUST dial the area code and number (1+ 10 digits).
911: Emergencies or non-emergency criminal violations, dial 911 from any university building or residence hall or cell phone.
Emergency phones: Use any of the designated call boxes strategically placed on the campus for immediate connection to the NIU Police.
(815) 753-1212: Department of Police and Public Safety (NIU Police) non-emergencies.
NIU Police: Contact an officer on patrol, at any Community Safety Center in the residence halls, or go to the Department of Police and Public Safety Office, 375 Wirtz Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115.
E-mail: niupd@niu.edu with non-emergency information on any criminal activity
(815) 753-8477 (TIPS): Report information to a university law enforcement group without revealing your identity.
(815) 895-3272, CrimeStoppers: Report information to a community organization law enforcement group without giving your identity.
Crimes can be reported on a confidential basis for inclusion in the Annual Security Report. If you are the victim of a crime and do not want to pursue action within the university system or the criminal justice system, you may still want to consider making a confidential report. The Department of Police and Public Safety can file a report on the details of the incident without revealing your identity. The purpose of a confidential report is to comply with your wish to keep the matter confidential, while taking steps to ensure the future safety of yourself and others. With such information, the university can keep an accurate record of the number of incidents involving students, employees, and visitors; determine where there is a pattern of crime with regard to a particular location, method or assailant; and alert the campus community to potential danger. Reports filed in this manner are counted and disclosed in the annual crime statistics for the institution.
NIU Police SupportThe NIU Department of Police and Public Safety maintains a working relationship with local, county, and state police. It participates in the DeKalb County Crime Stoppers Program and is a member of the North Central Narcotics Task Force.
NIU Police encourages members of the community to assist in preventing crime by minimizing opportunities to become a victim by using good judgment and safety practices and by encouraging students and employees to be responsible for their own and others’ security. During 2007, NIU Police presented 172 hours of educational programs on either a comprehensive crime prevention topic or a safety area to university groups. Of those 172 hours, 10 hours of education contained a sexual assault component. NIU Police provided education and crime prevention information to approximately 5,000 students and parents at Orientation and New Student Welcome Days.
As an effort to provide timely notice to the NIU community, in the event of a serious incident which may pose an ongoing threat to members of the NIU community, a timely warning would be distributed to the campus community. As circumstances allow, the decision to distribute a timely warning notice will be based on the judgment of the Chief of the NIU Police or designee in consultation with relevant university staff. Any of the following may be used to issue immediate warnings about serious emergencies on campus: emergency text message alerts, prominent postings on the NIU website, broadcast email and voicemail, and public address systems in Grant, Neptune, and Stevenson residence halls, as well as Founders Library and the Holmes Student Center. Fliers and other informational materials may also be posted in residence halls and other campus buildings to inform students, faculty, and staff of ongoing safety concerns. Timely warnings are also posted on the Department of Police and Public Safety website located at www.finfacil.niu.edu/PublicSafety.
The university’s buildings are monitored and patrolled by NIU police officers. University Security Guards patrol the buildings at night. The Department of Police and Public Safety regularly patrols campus and reports malfunctioning lights and other unsafe physical conditions to the Physical Plant for correction. Facilities and landscaping are maintained in a manner that minimizes hazardous conditions. Campus lighting typically meets or exceeds the industry standard for pedestrian walkways. Shrubbery and other vegetation are kept trimmed to avoid obstructing visibility. Parking lots throughout campus are well lit and routinely patrolled by NIU police officers. In addition, the parking deck and campus elevators are equipped with a communication system that is connected to the Department of Police and Public Safety. Other members of the university community are helpful when they report equipment problems to NIU Police or to Facilities Management. Possession and use of weapons are prohibited on the NIU campus.
The NIU campus is part of the city of DeKalb and, as such, is open to the public. The academic and administrative buildings are open to the public, at a minimum, during normal business hours. Most facilities have individual hours and the hours may vary at different times of the year. Access to some of these buildings is also controlled by card access after normal business hours and all of these buildings have varied levels of access.
Most academic and administrative buildings do not have an NIU police officer assigned to them. However, officers patrol the academic and administrative buildings on a regular basis. For information about the access protocol for a specific building, see the building manager, a department head, or contact the Department of Police and Public Safety at (815) 753-1212.
Access to residence halls is restricted to residents, their approved guests, and other approved members of the university community. Residents gain entry by swiping their cards in the card access readers. Residents are cautioned against permitting strangers to enter the buildings and are urged to require individuals seeking entry to use their own personal access cards. NIU police officers patrol the residence halls on a regular basis. Community Assistants and Community Directors also enforce security measures in the halls and work with residents to achieve a community respectful of individual and group rights and responsibilities.
Residence Hall Officers ProgramTo further ensure safety in the residence halls, the Department of Police and Public Safety, in collaboration with Housing and Dining, has implemented the Residence Hall Officers Program. The program consists of NIU police officers assigned to Community Safety Centers in the residence halls. These officers provide information and assistance to students, as well as conduct proactive services intended to prevent crime in and around the residence halls.
The university provides an effective structure for the protection of students in residence halls. The elements of this system include:
The university places restrictions on guests, building access, and actions that may have a detrimental effect on student security. Such restrictions include:
If a student is found to violate any of the above restrictions, the university may impose fines or other sanctions on the students. Additional information can be found in the Safety, Security and Emergency Procedures section of the Guide Post, a residence hall handbook and planner. It can be found online at www.niu.edu/housing under “On Campus Living, Publications” and is also available in hard copy at all residence halls.
All private fraternity and sorority houses are located off campus and therefore fall under the law enforcement jurisdiction of the DeKalb Police Department.
DeKalb Police monitor and record criminal activity at non-campus locations and may work cooperatively with NIU Police, Judicial Office, and Student Affairs to address problems as they arise.
NIU has three satellite learning centers: NIU Hoffman Estates; NIU Rockford; and NIU Naperville. These locations have on-site security guards and local police that patrol the surrounding vicinities. In addition to these three sites, NIU has an additional site at Lorado Taft Field Campus in Oregon focused on outdoor education. NIU staff live on site and local police patrol the surrounding vicinities. NIU regularly uses 30-40 non-campus locations for off-campus credit and non-credit courses. In addition to security firms at many of the sites, the police departments serving their respective communities police them.
Students are governed by NIU's Student Code of Conduct, which contains policies affecting security on campus. Such policies include those that regulate: