Crime Prevention
The UMPD takes a proactive and community-oriented approach to crime prevention. Our outreach and crime prevention programs help officers build relationships with the people who live and work on campus. Because they are well integrated into campus life, officers are able to identify problems and concerns before they become crises. In the past several years, the UMPD has worked to increase the visibility and accessibility of our officers, which helps prevent criminal activity. The development of our specialized patrol units (K-9, Bicycle, Motorcycle, and Mounted Patrols) has been key in these efforts.
Our student employees - Residence Hall Security and police cadets - are crucial players in crime prevention. Because they are students, and more fully involved in campus life, they are often able to identify and defuse potential problems before they escalate.
A high priority for the UMPD is to make the campus a place where students can move about with a sense of safety. We achieve this by maintaining a very well-lit campus, placing security cameras at residence hall doorways and HELP phone throughout campus, and operating a nightly walking escort service. The entire campus community helps with these priorities through an annual program called the Walk for Light. This is a comprehensive campus safety check, in which students, staff, and faculty spread across the campus to report any safety concerns they see along the way. The Walk for Light is conducted by the UMPD in conjunction with the Physical Plant, Housing and Residence Life, Student Affairs and Campus Life, and the Student Government Association.
As the Walk for Light illustrates, crime prevention on the UMass Amherst campus requires the cooperation of the entire campus community. Students, faculty, and staff must work together with police by staying alert, paying attention to your surroundings, taking precautions, watching out for friends (and your own safety), and reporting any suspicious or unusual behavior to security or police.
