DPS News

Best Practices For Admitting Utility Workers To Your Home

PeepholeIn light of recent security and theft concerns off-campus, which involved suspects posing as utility workers to gain entry to student residences, the Department of Public Safety has compiled this list of steps you can take to protect yourself and your property:

Stop and think: Are you expecting anyone to come to your home?  Call your landlord and ask if they arranged for service.  Never open your door without looking out a peephole or window to check who’s there.

  • If your door has a chain, put it on before answering your door. It will create a barrier between you and the visitor.
  • Don’t assume that the person is legitimate just because they’re wearing a uniform.
  • Do not allow someone in your home who claims to be from a utility company unless you have called the company and confirmed that they sent an employee to your residence. (Make this phone call with the visitor waiting outside, behind a locked door.)
  • Never open the door without asking for proper identification first.
  • If something seems strange, shut the door, lock it, and call the utility company or your land lord for verification or call 911.
  • If you think the person is an imposter, call 911 immediately.

DPS Changes Video Security System

Starting this week, DPS will transition to using Genetec software to monitor video footage. Each day, the DPS records 24/7 surveillance from more than 500 cameras, which provide almost 800 views and vantage points of campus and the surrounding area. Planning for the software switch began in March of 2012, and the transition process kicked off in the beginning of June 2013.
Genetec is a recognized and respected industry leader in closed-circuit and Internet based video. The system is compatible with a wider variety of cameras, which provides the University greater flexibility in its future camera purchases.
It offers an interface that is much more intuitive – easy to learn and follow, as DPS personnel discovered in training sessions this week – and it provides increased usability for dispatchers on the receiving end of video footage. For example, the Genetec platform is able to save camera views and return to the same vantage point between logins, which makes for improved search capabilities and accessibility during investigations.
The same system is in use by the Syracuse Police Department, Syracuse city schools, and the Hancock International Airport, which ensures streamlined sharing of information with those agencies. The full system transition to Genetec will be complete by Friday, August 2.

Crime Prevention Bulletin: Recent Off Campus Residential Burglaries, 7/3/2013

SECURITY TIPS: RECENT OFF CAMPUS RESIDENTIAL BURGLARIES

(Date Issued: 7/03/13)

The Syracuse Police Department is actively investigating a number of residential burglaries that occurred the last couple of weeks to student and non-student residences. The affected areas are located in the areas east and north of campus. The houses and apartments were entered through unlocked windows and doors.

Crime Prevention Bulletin: 6/26/2013

BICYCLE SECURITY

6/26/2013

DPS reports that several bicycle thefts have occurred on campus in recent weeks. Although the stolen bicycles were secured to bike racks with cable locks, the locks were easily cut. To help reduce bicycle thefts, owners are advised to properly utilize a Ubolt type lock (as seen below) to secure their bicycle frames directly to a bike rack. These U-bolt locks are available at the Syracuse University Bookstore in the Schine Student Center at a 25 percent discount for students, faculty and staff. To register your bike and receive your discount coupon, contact Detective C.J. McCurty at cmccurty@syr.edu or 315-480-5467.

DPS Officers Honored At The 2013 CNYACOP Awards Ceremony

CNYACOP2013Awards1Officer Christopher Daloia and Officer Daniel Lebron earned Law Enforcement Commendations for outstanding police work in the areas of investigations and patrol services.

Specifically, Officer Daloia was honored for his response to a conflict and subsequent arrest and charging of a suspect with an unregistered firearm, and Officer Lebron was recognized for his work with a narcotics taskforce under the New York State Attorney General.

Chief Anthonoy Callisto, Jr. was also recognized for his work as the CNYACOP’s president, from 2010-2012.