Reporting Crimes and Incidents
To help provide a secure and safe environment, all members of the college community and visitors are requested, encouraged and expected to report any criminal activity or emergency they observe. Contact the DPS directly, or request assistance from a college office in contacting the DPS to report a crime or emergency. Emergency phones are located at the Belleville and Red Bud campuses while an emergency phone number also can be used for each specific campus . The county or local city provides 9-1-1 service for soliciting emergency police, fire and ambulance response.
College telephones may be utilized to assist in reporting crimes or emergencies. The 9-1-1 service is the primary means of contacting the local police departments for PSOP, off-campus sites and Adult Basic Education centers, and athlete apartments. The 9-1-1 service also is available through the administrative phone system and pay phones. The DPS will respond as quickly as possible to every report of a crime or emergency. The number and location of available personnel and involvement at the time a report is received may affect response time.
Other incidents, which must be judged by the police officer in command at the time to be of greater or lesser importance, may take precedence. Action on a report also may involve response by personnel from:
- External ambulance or emergency services in the case of an incident possibly requiring medical treatment
- Counseling Services in the case of an incident possibly involving sexual assault
- Outside police or other agencies in the case of an incident possibly requiring manpower or specialized abilities beyond the capabilities of the DPS
Should you be the victim of, observe, or receive a report of a crime or incident requiring law enforcement, medical or firefighting assistance, you should report the occurrence immediately to the DPS by dialing the appropriate telephone number for your campus. The DPS is staffed to dispatch immediate assistance to you and relay the circumstances to the appropriate off-campus agency.
Provide as much information as is available.
- Identify yourself and your location
- Nature of the incident
- Type of assistance needed (medical, fire, police)
In the case of a criminal act
- provide a physical description of the suspect, where possible
- direction in which suspect departed
- or subject's present location
- description of vehicle
- etc
Reporting Emergencies
- When on a Southwestern campus, the quickest way to obtain professional help for an emergency is to telephone the Department of Public Safety. Call the local police department when at Red Bud, PSOP or an off-campus site.
- When calling, stay calm and carefully explain the situation to the emergency operator.
Be sure to provide the location of the incident.
DO NOT hang up the telephone until instructed to do so.
Phone Emergency's Numbers
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Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies
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Confidential Reporting
If you are assaulted and do not want to pursue action with the college system or the criminal justice system, you still may want to consider making a confidential report. With your permission, the director or designee of the DPS can file a report on the details of the incident without revealing your identity. The purpose of a confidential report is to comply with your wish to keep the matter confidential, while taking steps to ensure the future safety of yourself and others. With such information, the college can:
- keep an accurate record of the number of incidents involving students
- determine where there is a pattern of assaults with regard to a particular location
- track methods utilized or assailant types
- alert the campus community to potential danger
The DPS accepts reports from third parties and from victims who choose not to pursue criminal action. The DPS will make attempts to validate the allegations/criminal activity while making every effort to protect the victim's identity. Confidential/voluntary reports will be included in the annual crime statistics unless the crime is investigated and determined to be unfounded and/or exceptionally cleared in accordance with the FBI UCR Handbook standards.
Security Alerts
As needed, Security Alert Notices will be distributed and posted throughout campus to provide the community timely notification of violent crimes reported to the DPS. In addition to providing known facts regarding the incident, the notice also will contain safety recommendations to assist people from falling victim to a similar occurrence. Security Alert Notices will be distributed though:
- Electronic mail
- Security Alert Warning Posters
- Student Newspaper (time sensitive)
- and/or other Mediums that can provide Timely Warning