Campus Safety-UMPD

This presentation from the University of Maryland Police Department will overview important resources, safety campaigns, and services offered to keep the UMD community safe.

View the UMPD Slides Here

UMPD Frequently Asked Questions

How does UMD keep the Residence Hall safe?

Residence Halls entrance doors are locked 24 hours. Access cards or keys are needed to open entrance doors, call the elevator, open doors leading to stairwells and fire-floor rooms, and open bedroom doors. Nightly roves by Resident Life’s Resident Assistant(s) on duty. Resident Life also has security cameras inside of the lobby and main entrance areas of the residence halls that records people passing through main resident entry/exit doors. UMPD has over 500 cameras on campus that they actively monitor 24/7/365. UMPD police officers conduct walk throughs of all campus buildings to include residence halls.

What options do students have for calling for help?

Students can call UMPD by dialing 9-1-1 or 301-405-3333. They can call or text UMPD through the UMD Guardian app. Students can also use any of the blue light phones that are located on and off campus to call for help. To learn more about the UMD Guardian App, click here.

How is campus protected in the night and evening?

UMPD actively patrols the campus 24/7/365 in cars/SUVs, motorcycles, bicycles, and on foot. Our Student Police Auxiliary (SPA) supplements our patrols by patrolling in pairs. SPAs patrol on foot, in a vehicle or on a bicycle. They also provide walking safety escorts. We have over 500 cameras on campus that we actively monitor 24/7/365 in our Security Operations Center (SOC). Our SOC monitors are proactively looking for suspicious actively, assisting with calls in the moment and helping our Criminal Investigations Unit by reviewing footage for their investigations. We have over 300 blue light phones that are on and off campus. They have a blue light on them, which makes it easier to spot at night and some of them have a camera on them. All you have to do is press the red button and it puts you directly in contact with our Emergency Communications Center.

How can Terp families receive UMD alerts?

Parents are not able to receive UMD Alerts. However, your student can login into their account and add a second email address in addition to theirs. Parents can follow us on Twitter to get the latest information, as we share our UMD text message(s) to our Twitter account as soon as we send it out to our community. Parents can also subscribe to UMPD News to get notified when new content is added, which includes UMD Alerts.

What happens if my student is caught with alcohol or drugs?

Our number one priority is to make sure your student is safe. We respond to every medical call on campus with the Fire Department. If it is determined that they need medical attention due to over consumption of alcohol and/or drugs, they will get transported to a hospital for further evaluation. We then refer your student to the Office of Student Conduct for administrative review.

Our officers also have discretion when it comes to enforcement. An officer can issue a civil citation to your student if they are caught with an open container of alcohol or in possession of alcohol while under 21 years of age and/or refer them to the Office of Student Conduct. If your student is found to be in possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, an officer can issue them a civil citation and/or refer them to the Office of Student Conduct.

What kind of active shooter training do you provide your community?

We strongly encourage all members of our community to review our latest safety video, "Responding to an Active Shooter" (see below). The video, which walks you through the concepts of Run.Hide.Fight., includes but not limited to, how we alert our community, what to expect from responding officers, and how to contact police. Even though it’s Run.Hide.Firght., that does not mean you will go in that order if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation. Additionally, any member of our community can request an active shooter/campus threat preparedness training and discussion. While there’s no reason to expect to face an active shooter situation while your student is here, being prepared and understanding widely accepted practices are the best way to be safe.

How safe is it for my student to use the Metro?

Your student can access the College Park – U of MD Metro Station by taking a Shuttle-UM bus. As always, when traveling, you should encourage your student to always be aware of their surroundings. If they see something, say something immediately to police. Metro Transit Police Department has officers that patrol throughout the metro transit system. We also have concurrent jurisdiction where the College Park – U of MD Metro Station is located.

(Links to an external site.)

Responding to an Active Shooter

UMD Guardian App