Madison Kwiecinski

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu

Penn State Behrend places a priority on students’ safety, with campus police officers working 24/7 for 365 days a year. However, multiple incidents have taken place on-campus in the recent weeks since students returned for the spring semester. Students receive alerts when these criminal acts take place on-campus, and the following article is meant to explain how campus police and safety function on-campus, as well as what safety measures students should be taking and have access to. 

Each year, every Penn State Campus must publish an annual security and fire safety report. Currently, the 2021 version for Behrend has been published and the document is titled Policies, Safety, and U and is accessible online for anyone to view. 

“I urge you to review the information about campus safety measures, reporting crimes and other emergencies, as well as the procedures and policies designed to protect our University community,” said President Eric Barron in his statement at the beginning of the report. “Penn State’s priority is the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campuses, but a truly safe campus can only be achieved through the cooperation of everyone.”

According to the report, University Police and Public Safety is officially run through Penn State’s centralized police force. The Behrend Department includes a Station Commander, nine full-time police service officers, and one full-time public safety specialist. 

There are several ways of reporting crimes or serious incidents on campus, and even often the opportunity to do so anonymously if that is beneficial to the person reporting. Listed below are the three primary places where an incident may need to be reported. If you wish to report a crime anonymously, request a voluntary confidential report through police services. Additionally, you can use the following website to report crimes online, http://police.psu.edu/report-crime. 

• University Police and Public Safety – 814-898-6101
• Title IX Coordinator – 814-863-0471
• The Office of Student Conduct – 814-863-0342

For safety while on campus, there are several precautions an individual can take. The email that was sent out by the University recently encouraged students to take advantage of the “Safe Walk” program, which operates from dusk to dawn daily. Students may call University Police for an escort home. The emails also encourage students to utilize the buddy system, and to say something if you see something suspicious on campus. 

Additionally, Penn State has installed over 55 emergency use phones around campus and around relevant campus buildings. These include phones located in many outdoor locations and phones in public areas of buildings including parking garages, elevators, residence hall complexes, administration buildings, and numerous outdoor locations.

Penn State also has a Responsible Action Protocol in place, which offers students who were complicit in an illegal activity immunity from punishment if they report the dangerous situation and stay with whoever was in danger until the police can respond. For example, if two students were drinking, and one of the two then developed signs of alcohol poisoning, the second students could not get in trouble for calling the police and getting help for their friends. The Responsible Action Protocol is applicable in the following situations: 

• A student seeking medical assistance for himself or herself when experiencing an alcohol or drug overdose or related problems.
• A student seeking medical assistance for a peer suffering from an alcohol or drug overdose or related problems and remains with the peer until appropriate authorities arrive.
• A student suffering from an alcohol or drug overdose or related problems, for whom another student seeks assistance and remains with the peer until appropriate authorities arrive, will also not be subject to disciplinary action for alcohol violations

This is a system all students should be aware of because in these situations it is necessary to act. The student may still have to attend a Marijuana Intervention program (MIP) or a BASICS, an alcohol prevention program, after the incident, but the $200 fee will be waived, and it is a much better alternative to not seeking help. 

Despite the safety measures on campus and University Police always being on standby, it is important to remember to utilize common sense and general safety practices when they are necessary. University Police can be contacted at 814-898-6101.  In case of emergencies or immediate need contact please call 9-1-1.