Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) includes a campus law enforcement and community policing team serving the Syracuse University campus and University-controlled properties in Syracuse, New York.
DPS employs 64 sworn Public Safety Officers and 15 supporting Community Services Officers who are stationed around campus and patrol the surrounding community, and 84 Residential Community Safety Officers stationed in all residence halls on campus. Public Safety Officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the DPS emergency call center, which is staffed with 11 APCO certified public safety dispatchers, is also available around the clock to address our community’s safety and security needs. The dispatchers are required to successfully complete a 12-week training program to further enhance their abilities to handle the specific needs of the university community.
All DPS Public Safety Officers are required to successfully complete a certified campus peace officer or police academy, which includes more than 24 weeks of physical, academic, and practical training, a three-month Field Training Program, and a 13-week evaluation period. Our Public Safety Officers carry firearms when on duty, and complete firearms proficiency trainings twice every year.
The DPS offices are located on the ground floor of Sims Hall, located at 130 College Place on main campus.
Read the Department of Public Safety’s Mission and Vision Statements and view the Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services Organizational Chart [PDF].
Fire and Life Safety Services
DPS also encompasses the Fire and Life Safety Services Department, which responds to emergency incidents such as fire alarm activations across campus in partnership with the Syracuse Fire Department. FLSS is responsible for maintaining the University’s fire detection and suppression systems and related life safety equipment. FLSS manages and conducts inspections of residential, administrative, and academic facilities to comply with federal, state, and local applicable building and fire codes. FLSS staff are certified New York State Code Enforcement Officers.
Fire and Life Safety Services is housed in the ground floor of Lyman Hall, room 029.
Emergency Management and Business Continuity Planning
The Emergency Management and Business Continuity Planning director also works within the DPS. The Director of Emergency Management for the University is responsible for planning the University’s procedures for emergency response and works to ensure the policies and structures to facilitate appropriate and timely mobilization following incidents are in place. The Director of Emergency Management is available on an on-call basis for any emergency scenarios which may arise. The position is located within the DPS office in Sims Hall.
The Department of Public Safety is part of Campus Safety and Emergency Services, a unit created in the fall of 2014 to bring safety-related functions across the University together into one unified reporting structure.