DPS News

October Is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

How can you participate? Awareness month is the perfect time to review your current cyber practices.

You can start by attending a Syracuse Univeristy Information Technology Services workshop on October 29, 11:30 a.m. in room 304 of the Schine Student Center.

Below are activities and simple tips for staying safe online.

  • NEVER leave your laptop unattended, for ANY amount of time!
  • Don’t share your passwords with others.
  • Utilize secure passwords, which include capital letters and punctuation marks randomly placed within the password.
  • Back up all of the important files on your computer, whether personal or professional.
  • Make the process of backing up your files a regular routine for the security of your machine.
  • Do not open any links in emails from people you do not know.
  • Check that your computer has current antivirus software running.
  • You can obtain free antivirus protection for your computer at:
    Avira free antivirus
    Microsoft Security Essentials
  • Use different passwords for different accounts. Do not let one compromised account open the door to your other accounts!
  • Review Syracuse University’s Information Security policy and follow it.
  • Learn about phishing attacks and be prepared the next time you receive an email asking for private, personal or sensitive information such as your bank account number, credit card number, password or social security number.
  • Regularly check your privacy settings on social networking sites.
  • Avoid revealing too much information in your posts on social media, especially about your whereabouts in the physical world. (If you post that you’re on vacation and your address is public, you have made your residence vulnerable.)
  • Read the Cyber Security Tips Newsletters, available on the DHSES OCS website.
  • Spread awareness materials through your staff, business and consumer channels.
* If your device is stolen, IMMEDIATELY contact the Department of Public Safety at 315-443-2224.

NOTE: When larcenies occur on campus, it’s usually because an item of value has been left unattended.

To minimize your risk of becoming a victim, the Department of Public Safety offers a few guidelines for keeping your possessions (especially portable electronic devices) safe:

  • Never leave your belongings unattended. It might seem safe to leave your laptop or iPhone at the library while you make a quick trip to the bathroom, but it only takes a few seconds for someone to steal your property.
  • Put your name or some other kind of identifying mark on your textbooks.
  • When at your residence hall or apartment, always keep the doors and windows locked. The same rule applies here: even if you’re just going down the hall to talk to a friend, it only takes a minute for someone to enter your room and take your stuff.
  • Be aware of your surroundings. If you see something that doesn’t look right, or someone who is not acting right, trust your instincts and report them. If you’re on-campus, call DPS at (315) 443-2224. If you’re off-campus, call the Syracuse Police Department.

If you have any questions, call our Crime Prevention Unit at (315) 443-3873.

Staff Profile: Amy Francemone

Amy Francemone
Records, Logistics and Property Manageer

Amy has worked at the Department of Public Safety for a total of 7 years, and she’s an invaluable resource in our front office because of her experience with various law enforcement records management systems.

A native of Solvay, NY, Amy started her career in law enforcement as a dispatcher for Solvay Police Department in 1991. She continued working for the service until 1998, even after it merged with Onondaga County 911. She spent some time working as a stay at home mom with her four children, but when they were school-aged, she returned to Solvay as a data entry specialist in 2004 and began working with us part-time as an Emergency Communications Center dispatcher. Her current position was created in 2008.

Amy’s job description includes filing incident, arrest, and accident reports; sending reports to various agencies, such as the DMV; entering traffic tickets into records systems; maintaining the lock/unlock schedule for campus buildings; running queries for statistics within our internal records systems; sealing arrest cases; entering supplemental documents and information into the statewide crime database; release property from the BEAST (Bar-coded Evidence Analysis Statistical Tracking); preparing a Daily Crime Log for public view; and training employees to use the databases.

Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time on Song Lake, out on her boat and at her family campsite. She’s a huge hockey fan (New York Rangers), and started playing hockey herself last year in a women’s pickup hockey league in Cicero, NY.

Staff Profile: Adam Wheeler

WheelerAdam Wheeler
Sergeant – Training and Recruitment

Adam’s job description is a long one.  He ensures that DPS employees stay current on all trainings and certifications, including the yearly in-service requirements – a New York state requirement for law enforcement agencies to maintain their Peace Officer status.
Adam is also in charge of recruiting new employees, representing the Department at career fairs, maintaining training records, assigning all background checks for potential employees, conducting job interviews, and scheduling, planning and managing the trainings themselves.
Originally from Delaware County, New York, Adam says he’s always been interested in law enforcement. He remembers speaking with family members in the field as a teenager, and says his plans to enter law enforcement were solid after that. He was hired at DPS as an officer in 2005, soon after graduating with a degree in Public Justice from SUNY-Oswego. He was promoted to Corporal in 2011, and is now a Sergeant, following the Department’s recent restructuring process (the rank of Corporal no longer exists at DPS).
Outside of work, Adam is an avid hunter and outdoors-man. He plays golf and softball, and enjoys planning remodeling projects on his home in Syracuse.  Adam will marry his fiancée Jessica in October 2013.

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.