Frequently Asked Questions

We are located at 395 Wirtz Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115.

• Driving directions (Google Maps)
• Interactive campus map
• Find parking

Police services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The administrative services are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Yes, NIU police have full arrest powers in Illinois.

Yes, the NIU Department of Police and Public Safety is a full-service police department in the State of Illinois.

Yes.

When you call 911:

• Please note: Cellular 911 calls are routed based on tower location, but will ultimately be related to the appropriate department.
• Stay on the line with the dispatcher.
• Provide the address of the building involved and your exact location. This is especially critical if you are calling from a cell phone.
• Provide a thorough description of the incident and individuals involved such as clothing, height, weight and direction of travel to ensure proper resources are dispatched.
• Do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to do so.

If you need non-emergency assistance on campus, please call 815-753-1212.

The NIU Department of Police and Public Safety provides information about crimes that have recently occurred in the community and notify you about emergencies on the campus so that you may take the appropriate precautions. We issue Safety Bulletins using a variety of delivery methods which may include the NIU website, email, social media, and text messaging.

When you provide your mobile phone number in MyNIU, you're automatically registered with our emergency notification system to receive text messages about emergency situations and criminal activity on or near campus. All students and employees also receive emergency information at their niu.edu email address.

We also notify the community of emergency situations using sirens and weather radios, broadcast voicemail messages, in-building public address announcements, campus networked computer alerts and internet protocol television (IPTV).

Crime statistics—which we track and publish in our Annual Security and Fire Safety Report—show that crime at NIU is comparable to other campuses across Illinois and among four-year public institutions of a similar size. NIU is a safe campus, but no community or college is completely free of crime.

The best defense to crime is to stay aware of your surroundings and make safe decisions. Most importantly, if you see something suspicious, say something by calling us at 815-753-1212 or 911 in an emergency. Safety in our community is everyone's responsibility, and we rely on our community to help us make NIU and DeKalb a safer place.

Located in the cornfields of rural DeKalb County, the city of DeKalb balances the friendly feel of a small town with the conveniences of city and suburban life. It's home to many families, several thousand NIU employees and many students who rent apartments. Like other communities that border a college campus, DeKalb is not immune to crime, but it is a safe community. Plus, statistics show that crime is declining.

Your safety and the safety of your fellow students is vitally important to us. We also value your independence and have worked to build an environment that supports you with many safety measures, including the following:

• We teach you how to improve your safety during your orientation visit. You also receive safety information when you move into your residence hall. In addition, you receive safety briefings throughout the year and have access to safety tips online.
• We have a highly trained police force of over 40 sworn officers.
• Each NIU residence hall is routinely patrolled by campus police officers.
• Residence halls have security protocols, designated entrance areas, night check-in procedures and (for high-rises) 24-hour key access to floors and elevators.
• We use dozens of cameras to monitor key areas and entry points to residence halls.
• The campus is well-lit, including sidewalks, roads and parking lots.
• The NIU Safe app has several features to help you stay safe while walking.
• You can provide your mobile phone number through MyNIU in order to receive emergency alerts via text message.

These procedures and resources help us build and maintain a safe campus community.

The NIU Department of Police and Public Safety uses community policing to prevent crime. NIU officers interact with the NIU and DeKalb communities through multiple formats which include educational programs, foot patrols, vehicle patrols and bicycle patrols.

The NIU Department of Police and Public Safety and the DeKalb Police Department assist one another with cases on and off campus by sharing information, manpower and resources. For example, both departments actively patrol the Greek Row areas where many students live. By working together, they are able to reduce response times to calls, provide more resources, have more positive interactions with community members and provide better services to the NIU and DeKalb communities.

The NIU Department of Police and Public Safety also works cooperatively with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois State Police.

No. Illinois' concealed carry legislation allows NIU to continue its practice of prohibiting firearms on campus. The possession and carrying of firearms or other weapons identified through Illinois Statute as dangerous weapons on NIU property remains illegal and prohibited. This extends to all property owned or controlled by the university, including, but not limited to, locations outside of the DeKalb campus where university classes, programs and activities are held.

Uniformed NIU police officers patrol campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week on foot, on bicycle and in patrol vehicles.

However, we believe that campus safety is not just the responsibility of police officers. Every day, over 4,500 faculty and staff members teach, assist and interact with students in classrooms and other facilities across our 800-acre campus. We believe that student welfare is the responsibility of every employee.

We have established comprehensive personal safety precautions. The NIU Department of Police and Public Safety presents many programs about crime prevention and safety to groups in the university and community.

Safety tips are posted online, and safety messages are sent to the university community at the start of every school year, as well as during routine tests.

Most importantly, you can take responsibility for your security and personal property. You can help prevent the loss of property by carrying only small amounts of cash, never leaving your valuables unattended, not lending your keys to anyone, locking the doors and windows to your home and car and reporting any suspicious activity to the NIU police immediately.

While there is a low incidence of crime at NIU, you can help prevent crime by reducing opportunities to become a victim. Use good judgment and be responsible for your and others' security. Be aware of your surroundings and leave a social function if it gets too loud or crowded, or if many people are drinking excessively.

As part of our commitment to providing information to the community to help keep our campus safe, and in compliance with the federal Clery Act, NIU publishes the annual security and fire safety report.

The university's Safety Notification System may be used to distribute important information via text message, recorded phone message and/or email. The system will use the mobile phone number that has been provided by students and employees through MyNIU. This is just one component of the university's safety notification plan. See Types of Notifications for information on safety notifications and the channels of communication that can be utilized to provide safety warnings to the campus community.

There is no charge to sign up for this service. Your cell phone carrier might charge you to receive text messages, so please check your plan. If your plan includes unlimited text messages, you will not be charged.

NIU students and employees are automatically subscribed to the service via their contact information in MyNIU. See our registration page for information on how to update your mobile phone number in MyNIU.

The primary purpose of this service is to notify the immediate campus community as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency situation so it is only available to NIU students, their families and NIU employees. The following methods are available to the general public:

• NIU Police and Public Safety Facebook page
• NIU Police and Public Safety X account (@niupolice)
• Emergency information webpage

NIU students have the ability to register up to two emergency contacts in MyNIU to receive NIU Alerts. These contacts can be parents, spouses, family members or anyone else. The primary purpose of this service is to notify the people on campus as quickly as possible when an emergency occurs. Notifications will be sent to the parents, spouses and others after a message has been sent to all students and employees.

Contact information for the system is updated daily, so once you graduate or leave, you will be removed from the system. Parents, when your child graduates from NIU, your numbers will be deleted from their account. If you are listed on the account of another child who is still enrolled, you will continue to be registered.

All text messages from the NIU Safety Notification System will come from 23-7233 (BE SAFE). You may want to add that code to your phone's contacts under "NIU Safety Notification" so you recognize the name when the message comes through. Emails will come from niupd@niu.edu and will be sent to your niu.edu email address.

The message will give you a very brief description of the situation and tell you if you need to take action. Text messages have a 140 character limit, so the message will be brief. See Safety Notifications for detailed information. The system will ask you to confirm receipt of the message. This helps the university know that the message was received.

You can update your cell phone number by logging in to MyNIU, and updating your phone number under 'personal information'.

NIU Safe is an app that provides campus with safety resources and adds a layer of security to help students and employees. The app includes many features, such as emergency alerts, Virtual Walkhome and Mobile BlueLight. It helps users report crimes, respond to emergency situations, track weather conditions, and access resources and services.

You can get NIU Safe from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The message will briefly describe the situation and tell you if you need to take action. See Current NIU Safety Notifications for more detailed information.

This feature lets the NIU police know where you're traveling. When you use this feature, the Department of Police and Public Safety will be able to monitor your progress to your destination. Virtual Walkhome will use your location services and, if necessary, will call 911.

In an emergency situation, you can use the Mobile BlueLight feature to call the Department of Police and Public Safety and send them your location.

Friend Walk allows you to send your location to a friend so they monitor your progess as you walk to your destination. If necessary, they can trigger a call to emergency services.

No. These features are available for the DeKalb main campus and the immediate surrounding area, and will not work outside these boundaries.

Yes. You may speak to a supervisor about your complaint or the complaint process. After speaking to a supervisor you are still entitled to submit a formal written or online complaint.

Yes. Filing a false report with a law enforcement agency is a criminal offense. Also, the same civil remedies available to citizens are available to police officers.

A police department administrator reviews all complaints. The complaints are then assigned to an appropriate supervisor for investigation and follow-up. Upon completion and review of a thorough investigation, a final disposition is determined.

Yes. You will be notified of the disposition in writing after the investigation is completed.

You may be asked to testify in a criminal court or departmental hearing. Aside from arrests arising from criminal conduct, an employee may be subjected to disciplinary action if found in violation of any rules or regulations.

Complaints may be filed by calling the department, filling out an online complaint form or by visiting the department in person.