DPS Monthly Updates

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:  

Fall is here and we have many exciting events happening on campus in the coming weeks. All of us at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) appreciate our community’s focus on safety.  

In this monthly update there are a few items I want to touch upon: 

• Scam Awareness  
• Community Events
• Employee of the Month 
• Monthly Bias Update 

Scam Awareness

Across the country, there has been an increase in scams of all kinds. DPS and Information Technology Services (ITS) want to help the Orange community be aware of scams to look out for this year, and measures our students, faculty and staff can take to avoid being a victim.  

Scams to Be Aware of in 2024 

• Textbook and laptop shopping scams: Be cautious when you search for cheaper alternatives online. Make certain the website you are visiting is legitimate.  
• Scholarship scams: Cybercriminals are known to imitate banks, government agencies and other lenders to target students to steal their personal and financial information. Verify the opportunity by visiting the scholarship program’s website.  
• Tech support scams: Fraudsters will mimic a school computer support technician and commonly say they need to install educational software and ask students to click on a pop-up window to give them access to their personal device. 
• Fake job offers: Criminals pose as recruiters and reach out directly to targets, often over text message. Scammers will ask for information that is not typically required in a job application, like your bank account number and/or other sensitive information. 
• Sextortion Scam Emails: The scammer will often demand payment, typically in cryptocurrency, in exchange for not releasing intimate or compromising information about you. To make their threats seem more real, they might include personal details such as your phone number, address or even the names of friends or family members. It is important to understand that bad actors often collect this information from publicly available sources without an actual breach of your accounts or devices.

Measures You Can Take to Avoid Being Scammed:

• Do online searches: Look for reviews, complaints or similar scams. 
• Do NOT believe your caller ID: Scammers are able to manipulate the number reported.
• Do NOT pay upfront for a promise of future income. 
• Ask questions to flush out whether the caller is legitimate (e.g., if they claim to be calling from the Internal Revenue Service or Social Security Administration, ask them to tell you your Social Security number or Visa number, or ask for a call back number you can then research).
• Hang up on robocalls.
• Do NOT deposit a check and wire money back to the individual who sent you the check.
• Never give someone your login or PIN information for any accounts and use two-factor authentication wherever possible. 

Additional information on how to stay safe from scams and what to do if you become a victim can be found on the FBI website. 

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to DPS at dpsadmin@syr.edu or ITS at help@syr.edu. 

Community Events

Halloween Safety Station

Our safety station is back and just in time for Halloween! Come see us outside of Lyons Hall, 401 Euclid Ave., on Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, from 9 p.m. to midnight. We will be providing snacks and reminding students of important safety tips and answering any questions they may have. Please feel free to stop by and say hello to those stationed at the table! 

DPS Game Nights

Join members of DPS for a PS5 and Oculus VR game night on the big screen in the Schine Student Center! Play against your friends or take on some of our DPS staff in your favorite games.  

DPS Game Nights will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3 and 19, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Coffee With a Cop Day

Coffee With a Cop Day brought new and familiar faces to Sims Hall yesterday. DPS set up outside Sims Hall and greeted students, faculty and staff with coffee, hot chocolate and tea. The event was a great way for our community to meet with members of DPS and ask any questions they might have had!

Open House at Marshall Street

The weekend of September 27 was a busy weekend across campus thanks to Family Weekend. To join in on the festivities, DPS held an Open House at our Marshall Street Substation. We welcomed the Syracuse University community, their family and friends and reminded them that our substation is a safe place to: 

• report any incidents or suspicious activity; 
• access important safety strategies and resources; and  
• get to know the DPS staff that is on-hand to assist them. 

For hours of operation, visit our website. 

Employee of the Month

I am pleased to share that Officer Thomas Bingham, Officer Kara Salce and Officer Pised Yoeun have been selected as our September 2024 Employees of the Month! 

Officer Bingham helped provide medical care to a non-affiliate of the University until he could be transported to the hospital. Officer Salce constantly volunteers for extra duties in the community, all while maintaining a positive attitude! Meanwhile, thanks to his self-initiated walkthrough and attention to detail, Officer Yoeun prevented a possible crime from happening on campus by removing a non-affiliate of the University.  

Congratulations on a job well done! 

Bias Incidents

Sept. 22: A resident advisor reported the discovery of racist graffiti that was found written on a soap dispenser in a bathroom in Watson Hall. The dispenser was replaced.  

Update: DPS met with the resident assistant who discovered the racist graffiti and inspected the impacted space in Watson Hall. Due to the incident occurring in a restroom, there is no reliable video footage or direct witness accounts. We ask that anyone who may have information about this incident contact us immediately. 

It is also never too late to come forward with information. 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 and Hate website. 

Go Orange! 

Chief Craig Stone 
Department of Public Safety  

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

I can’t believe the fall semester is already here! Our entire Department of Public Safety (DPS) team has enjoyed seeing all the new and returning faces over the past couple of weeks. I hope everyone has settled in nicely as the semester gets underway.

If you haven’t yet, please review our communication that was sent out at the beginning of the semester which highlighted important safety resources and services. Please also make sure to read Dean of Students Sheriah Dixon’s email to you on Aug. 27.

Additionally, I have several updates to provide today, including the following:

• Important Safety Reminders
• Community Police Academy and R.A.D.
• DPS Community Engagement Events
• Employee of the Month
• Monthly Bias Update

Important Safety Reminders

Keep Your Belongings Safe

Members of the Syracuse University community can take some simple steps to ensure the safety of their belongings. DPS recommends taking these actions:

• Always lock your windows and doors, even if you are only going to be away from your room, apartment or house for a short period of time.
• Ensure car windows and doors are locked/secured. Do not leave your keys in your vehicle.
• Do not leave valuable items in your vehicle.
• If you need to keep valuables in the car, make sure that they can’t be easily seen, e.g., please keep them in the trunk. Keep them out of sight and locked up!

If you have something stolen or if your residence or car is broken into, don’t hesitate to reach out to DPS. Our non-emergency phone number to call is 315.443.2224.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety

DPS would like to remind the campus community of a few easy steps that everyone can take to ensure we all reach our destinations unharmed, especially if we are walking or riding a bike or scooter.

• Avoid wearing earbuds or headphones.
• Look both ways before crossing and cross at the crosswalk.
• Wait for the walk signal!
• Be proactive by wearing light or reflective clothing during low-light situations.

Some specific safety tips for those on bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc.:

• Obey all traffic signals, signs and pavement markings.
• Ride with traffic as this makes you more visible and your movements more predictable to motorists.
• You must wear a helmet!

Don’t forget to register your bike with DPS, so a record of your bicycle is kept on file in the event of a theft.

Community Police Academy and R.A.D.

Our DPS team is still accepting applications for our Community Police Academy (CPA) and registrations for our R.A.D. self-defense course. Please review the following information to determine if these programs may be of interest to you:

Community Police Academy: 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. For the Fall 2024 semester, the classes will be held on campus in Lyman Hall from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Wednesday, Sept. 25
• Wednesday, Oct. 2
• Wednesday, Oct. 9
• Wednesday, Oct. 16

To learn more and register for our CPA program, visit here.

R.A.D. Self-Defense Course: 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, progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training. For the Fall 2024 semester, the classes will be held on the following dates from 6 to 9 p.m. at 1330 Jamesville Avenue:

• Tuesday, Sept. 24
• Tuesday, Oct. 1
• Tuesday, Oct. 8
• Tuesday, Oct. 15

To learn more and register for our R.A.D program, visit here.

DPS Community Engagement Events

Our DPS team is always looking for opportunities to connect with our campus community. Here are some events coming up:

DPS Game Nights: Game nights will be held again this semester in the Schine Student Center. There will be a PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Oculus Quest available for use, or just stop by to chat with DPS staff. You can find us in the Schine from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19. Be on the lookout for future dates for DPS Game Nights!

Coffee with a Cop: As you head to class or to work on Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 9 to 11 a.m., stop by Sims Hall to see our team from DPS giving away treats for our Coffee with a Cop Day!

Our tent will be set up right outside Sims Hall by the College Place bus stop with:

• Coffee, hot chocolate and tea station
• Sweet treats
• Chance to win prizes and DPS swag

As always, we welcome your suggestions on other events we can host that allow our officers and our community to get to know each other better. Be sure to mark your calendar and follow us on social media (@syracusedps) for more information on these events.

Employee of the Month

Brandon Benson has been selected as our August 2024 Employee of the Month. This summer Brandon was very busy helping implement the fix for Wi-Fi readers on campus and helped fix an issue with the in-car video for our patrol cars. He also was the lead programmer for most of the card access conversion this summer and took charge on leading the installation of over 200 card readers being installed in Orange Hall.

Monthly Bias Update

There are no new updates to share. As a reminder, if we do have additional updates, we will update the chart on our website and share any developments in this monthly email.

It is also never too late to come forward with information. 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 managed by Community Standards staff.

Stay safe and have a productive start to the semester.

Go Orange!

Chief Craig Stone
Department of Public Safety

 

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

In anticipation of the start of a new academic year, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) team has been hard at work preparing for your arrival. We are very much looking forward to greeting you in the next couple of weeks.

I have several important topics I would like to address this month in our update, including the following

• Youth Leadership Camp
• CALEA Accreditation
• Training
• Employee of the Month
• Monthly Bias Update

Youth Leadership Camp

DPS held its second annual Youth Leadership Camp for rising ninth graders from the Syracuse City School District the week of July 15. The camp is designed to prepare rising ninth graders for high school and provide them with the skills to be successful in life.

We appreciate the Office of Government and Community Relations for being a sponsor of the camp; Bill Coplin, professor of policy studies in the Maxwell School for instructing the students in Skills Win: A Program to Improve Basic Career and Citizenship Skills; and all the volunteer students, faculty and staff who assisted with the camp.

CALEA Accreditation

Over the past three years, with a goal of seeking advanced accreditation, outside assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) have been reviewing our policies and procedures for compliance.

In July 2024, the team lead assessor, Amy Schreiner, deputy chief at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, conducted an on-site assessment that included, among other things, interviews with campus stakeholders and public safety partner agencies and ride-alongs with campus peace officers. The four focus areas of the on-site assessment included communications and dispatch operations; crime prevention and community involvement; recruitment and selection of personnel; and response to active threats and critical incidents.

The final report will be forwarded to the commission for review and decision. In November 2024, DPS will appear before the CALEA Commissioners in a public review hearing to discuss the findings of the assessment.

Training

This summer all DPS peace officers and dispatchers received trauma informed care/policing training from the University at Buffalo, School of Social Work, Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) by instructor Thomas Gibbons, retired senior investigator for the New York State Police. The department also received diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility training from Christina Papaleo, DEIA learning and development specialist from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

We strive to support a campus culture that is truly welcoming and offers a sense of safety and openness to diverse communities, perspectives and experiences.

Employee of the Month

Detective Chris Wood has been selected as our July 2024 Employee of the Month.

Detective Wood’s hard work culminated in July with a successful CALEA on-site assessment. He met the requirements of providing hundreds of updated and new standard operating procedures (SOP) documented proofs for each SOP and managed a multi-day on-site assessment.

Monthly Bias Update

There are no new updates to share. As a reminder, if we do have additional updates, we will update the chart on our website and share any developments in this monthly email.

It is also never too late to come forward with information. 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.

Look forward to seeing you all soon!

Sincerely,

Chief Craig A. Stone
Department of Public Safety

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

It is hard to believe that another year has passed by as we celebrated Commencement this past weekend. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our campus community and well-wishes to all our graduates!

In my last update of the semester, I will touch on:

• Community Engagement Updates
• Bicycle, Scooter and Skateboard Safety
• Employees of the Month
• Monthly Bias Update

Community Engagement Updates

Our Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services team has been hard at work throughout the semester organizing several community engagement initiatives, including:

Earth Day Clean-Up: In celebration of Earth Day, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) partnered with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs to organize a neighborhood clean-up for the second consecutive year. This year, we doubled the number of participants, with more than 200 students taking time out of their weekend to help make a positive difference for our campus community and neighbors. Our team is looking forward to growing this event even more next year.

Safety Stations: In partnership with Title IX and Apartment and Off-Campus Living, DPS held its Safety Stations during the last weekend of April. Hundreds of students stopped by our table set up at 401 Euclid Ave., outside of Lyons Hall. Representatives from the aforementioned offices answered questions and reminded students of important safety tips. We look forward to continuing this initiative in the fall.

Youth Leadership Camp: Our second annual Youth Leadership Camp is slated for the third week of July. This collaboration between Syracuse University DPS and the Syracuse City School District will bring rising ninth graders to campus for a week. The students will partake in an expansive curriculum, including learning sessions that will focus on life, career and other important skills. I look forward to sharing more about this in the coming months.

Bicycle, Scooter and Skateboard Safety

With the warmer weather and more members of our campus community remaining in town for the summer, there will be an increased use of bicycles, scooters or skateboards on campus. Please keep these tips in mind when out and about:

• Obey traffic signs and signals; bicycles must follow the rules of the road like other vehicles.
• Always wear your helmet!
• Use a U-bolt locking device for your bicycle and register your bike with DPS.

We also encourage drivers to be mindful and alert to the increased presence of bicycles, scooters and skateboards and to obey the rules of the road. For more safety tips, visit our website.

Employees of the Month – March 2024

I am pleased to share that Officer John Romano and Community Services Officer (CSO) Larry Whitlock have been selected as our March 2024 Employees of the Month.

Officer Romano is being honored for his pivotal role in apprehending an individual related to a harassment incident on Marshall Street. CSO Whitlock is being recognized for his tireless work ethic and exceptional service provided to the campus community. Congratulations to them both!

Monthly Bias Update

There are no new updates to share. 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 also never too late to come forward with information. 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