DPS News

Public Safety Informational Notice: Secure Your Residence Before Leaving for Winter Break

Final exams have arrived and over the next week many of you will depart our campus for the winter break. The Department of Public Safety is reminding the University community to take the necessary steps to protect your residences, offices, cubicle spaces and belongings.

For those of you who live and work on campus, please take the following steps to secure your space:

• Secure doors and windows.
• Close all curtains/blinds.
• Make sure to lock your door.
• Unplug all electrical items, except refrigerators.
• Do not give your keys out.
• Mark/engrave all items of value and keep a record including serial numbers.
• Do not leave credit cards, checkbooks, cash or other valuables readily accessible; these can be taken and used by a thief before you know they are gone.

If you live off campus, please:

• Make your residence look occupied; consider buying a timer that automatically turns on interior and exterior lights at a predetermined time, or when there is motion.
• Be sure your outdoor lighting is working and sufficient.
• Lock sliding glass doors and place a wooden dowel or metal bar in the track of the door.
• Take anything valuable home with you, i.e. laptop computer, video game console, jewelry, etc.
• Do not leave any valuable items near windows. Take pictures of anything valuable and ensure that you have installed tracking software and documented the serial numbers of all electronic devices.
• Unplug all electrical items, except your refrigerator and timers.
• If you have a security alarm, make sure you turn it on when leaving.

If you see anything suspicious, for on-campus, please call DPS at 315.443.2224 or use the Orange Safe app or for off-campus, call the Syracuse Police Department at 315.442.5111.

Even during the winter break, the Department of Public Safety is always working and available to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you observe anything concerning. As always, our recommended safety strategies can be found on our website.

Wishing you all safe travels, a happy holiday season and restful winter break.

November 2023 Updates From the Department of Public Safety

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

This will be our final monthly message of the Fall 2023 semester. The entire Department of Public Safety (DPS) team is grateful to our campus community members for their cooperation and commitment to safety throughout this year. I wish for you all to have a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

Listed below are some brief updates from the DPS team:

  • Destress With DPS
  • Spring Semester Engagement Efforts
  • Preparing Residences for Winter Break
  • Orange Safe Feature: Shuttle Schedules and Tracker
  • Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services (CSEMS) Achievements
  • Monthly Bias Update

Destress With DPS

During finals week at the end of each semester make sure you “Destress with DPS” at Bird Library. Take a break from the studying to grab some snacks, interact with our team and spend some time with therapy dogs! This event will be held tonight from 8 to 11 p.m.

Be sure to mark your calendar and follow us on social media for more information @SyracuseDPS.

Spring Semester Engagement Efforts

Our DPS team is always looking for opportunities to connect with our campus community. Here is what we have planned for 2024:

Community Police Academy: Our Community Police Academy is back again for the Spring 2024 semester. This is a free four-week program designed to give eligible students, faculty and staff an idea of what it’s like to protect and serve our campus community. The classes will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Lyman Hall, Room 132, on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, Feb. 14
  • Wednesday, Feb. 21
  • Wednesday, Feb. 28
  • Wednesday, March 6

To learn more and apply, please visit the Community Police Academy webpage.

R.A.D. Self Defense Classes: R.A.D. is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. The R.A.D. system is a comprehensive course that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, and progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training. The classes will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at 1330 Jamesville Ave. on the following dates:

  • Tuesday, Jan. 30
  • Tuesday, Feb. 6
  • Tuesday, Feb. 20
  • Tuesday, March 5

To learn more and register, visit the R.A.D. webpage.

Preparing Residences for Winter Break

As many of you plan to depart campus for the winter break, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you to take necessary action to protect your residences, offices, cubicle spaces and belongings. Please review our latest informational notice about how to secure your spaces.

While many members of our community will be heading elsewhere after finals, many will remain around campus. As a reminder, the Department of Public Safety is always working and available to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 315.443.2224 if you observe anything concerning.

Orange Safe Feature: Shuttle Schedules and Tracker

Did you know you can check shuttle schedules and see a live tracker of the shuttles around campus in the Orange Safe app? To find this feature, open the Orange Safe app and select “Support Resources” from the home page. Then select “Campus Shuttle,” from there you will be able to access the “Shuttle Schedules” and get live information as to where shuttles are and when you can expect one relative to your location.

If you haven’t already downloaded Orange Safe, I urge you to do so. You can learn more about the app and how to download by visiting the Orange Safe webpage.

Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services (CSEMS) Achievements

Our CSEMS team has accomplished great things throughout 2023. We have highlighted the wonderful achievements of our team through our Employee of the Month initiative and our recently held CSEMS Awards Program:

Employees of the Month: Sergeant Tim Salanger and Officer Fred Antinarella have been selected as our October 2023 Employees of the Month! Congratulations on a job well done! To read about their accomplishments, please visit our Employee of the Month webpage.

CSEMS Awards: The CSEMS Awards serves as opportunity to honor the impactful work of our entire unit from throughout the past year. An awards committee composed of CSEMS employees, with representation from all units, begins planning the awards during the summer months. The 2023 CSEMS Awards was held on Oct. 26. To learn more about the 2023 honorees, please see CSEMS Awards webpage.

Monthly Bias Update

Dec. 5: Antisemitic language written was discovered by a student in a book borrowed from Bird Library.

Update: Following a prompt review by DPS and library staff, it was determined that prior to the recent check out, the book had not been checked out since 2010. Based on this and the worn nature of the writing, it is likely the book has contained this content for over a decade, but went undiscovered. Bird Library staff has sent the book to have the page containing the language removed and repaired.

As a reminder, if we do have additional updates they will be posted on the chart on our website and share any developments in this monthly email.

It is never too late to come forward with information on any bias incident or crime. You can call DPS at 315.443.2224 or submit information anonymously via the Silent Witness tool. In addition, to report a bias incident or to receive support, visit the STOP Bias website.

Go Orange!

Chief Craig A. Stone
Department of Public Safety
Student Experience Division

Important Winter Weather Information

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

As Central New York begins to experience winter weather, we are writing to provide important information on how the University navigates and communicates about extreme weather conditions. Please review the enclosed information carefully.

Syracuse University generally remains open for business in inclement weather, while always prioritizing the safety and well-being of our community members. We work with Precision Weather Service to help inform our decisions about weather delays, closings or other operational changes. Academic Affairs, Campus Facilities, Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services, and the Student Experience Division are also consulted.

In the event extreme weather necessitates a change in the University’s operating status, it will be announced via the University’s emergency broadcast notification system and will carry the notice SU WEATHER ALERT. To ensure you receive these messages, please confirm your Orange Alert settings are up to date in MySlice.

SU WEATHER ALERT information will be announced via the following communications channels:

Only Syracuse University’s Division of Communications is authorized to transmit to the campus community and the news media about closings, work-schedule changes or class-start delays.

Although Syracuse University rarely closes for inclement weather, individuals must make personal decisions based on a risk assessment related to travel. We encourage all employees to take precautions and use good judgment when traveling to/from work. Faculty and staff concerned about travel conditions should contact their department chair or supervisor, respectively.

For information on winter weather preparedness, please visit the Department of Public Safety website.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Andrew R. Gordon
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Craig A. Stone
Chief, Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services

Public Safety Informational Notice: DPS Recovers Discarded Firearm

On Friday, November 17, 2023, at approximately 11:13 a.m., The Department of Public Safety (DPS) responded to a report of a person possessing a firearm near a bus stop on Waverly Avenue. The suspect was said to have shown the weapon to a group they were with in a non-menacing manner.

Upon arrival, DPS and the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) began a search as the suspect had fled on foot toward Irving Avenue, where they were eventually detained without further incident. Once in custody, officers searched the suspect for a weapon with negative results. Officers conducted a search around the path the suspect took and quickly recovered a firearm that had been discarded into the bushes.

The suspect has been identified as a non-affiliate of Syracuse University and is currently in custody of SPD.

If you were in the vicinity at the time of this incident and have additional information to share, please contact SPD at 315.442.5222 or DPS at 315.443.2224. If you would like to anonymously report NON-EMERGENCY information for DPS, you can use the Silent Witness tool.

This public safety information is issued for your safety in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act.

Public Safety Informational Notice: DPS Recovers Discarded Firearm, No Imminent Threat Towards Campus Community

On Friday, November 17, 2023, at approximately 11:13 a.m., The Department of Public Safety (DPS) responded to a report of a person possessing a firearm near a bus stop on Waverly Avenue. The suspect was said to have shown the weapon to a group they were with in a non-menacing manner.

Upon arrival, DPS and the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) began a search as the suspect had fled on foot toward Irving Avenue, where they were eventually detained without further incident. Once in custody, officers searched the suspect for a weapon with negative results. Officers conducted a search around the path the suspect took and quickly recovered a firearm that had been discarded into the bushes.

The suspect has been identified as a non-affiliate of Syracuse University and is currently in custody of SPD.

If you were in the vicinity at the time of this incident and have additional information to share, please contact SPD at 315.442.5222 or DPS at 315.443.2224. If you would like to anonymously report NON-EMERGENCY information for DPS, you can use the Silent Witness tool.

This public safety information is issued for your safety in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act.