The last thing on a college student’s mind as they immerse themselves in the college atmosphere is their safety.

Yet, students should not only consider how safe their college is but also how their college promotes safety and security to the university and its students.

Security services are provided 24 hours a day everyday of the year at Saint Louis University by the Department of Public Safety, and at the University of Missouri – St. Louis and Washington University by campus police departments. How do these services compare?

SLU DPS, UMSL police, and Wash.U. police all provide similar services. Some of these services are patrolling buildings, locking and unlocking buildings, enforcing parking regulations, and reporting safety hazards.

They all regularly patrol outside residence halls, conduct patrols around all university property to identify safety hazards, and survey the lighting on the campuses to ensure that the campus is well lit to increase safety.

Officers at UMSL and Wash. U. are trained and pass certification tests like regular police officers in St. Louis County. These campus police forces are like those at any municipality in St. Louis County. The City of St. Louis prohibits any other police forces within its borders. As a result the officers at SLU are private security officers licensed by the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners.

SLU employs 125 officers who work in three mobile shifts. Every shift has five mobile cars, a supervisor’s car and an unmarked car.

In addition, three officers walk the campus every shift, sometimes utilizing golf carts.

SLU also has 10 bike-patrol officers, with five on each of the two shifts.

UMSL police has a string of 21 sworn officers. Their fleet includes two unmarked and four marked cars.

Wash. U. police includes 19 deputized police officers who have been trained in accordance with county and state requirements at the St. Louis Police Academy.

SLU provides an escort service for students, staff and visitors who want to be escorted to their cars, other buildings, or across campus. SLU also has added a phone at the Grand MetroLink Station and a taxicab service.

UMSL police provide their students and staff with an escort service if they do not feel safe walking alone or have a long distance to travel.

Wash. U. police offer an escort service for students and staff wishing to travel to and from campus.

Both SLU and Wash. U. offer a shuttle service; UMSL does not.

SLU has blue lights emergency phones strategically placed around campus and in all their parking lots. SLU also has a phone that rings directly to DPS in every building on campus. At UMSL red phones are placed throughout the buildings across campus, while blue phones are placed on parking lots in case of an emergency. At Wash. U. blue light phones are available at over 100 locations on and surrounding the Hilltop Campus.

Security on campus keeps the college environment a safe place to live and learn. SLU, UMSL and Wash. U. are all concerned with the safety of their students and provide numerous services to ensure their safety.

(Information from SLU Department of Public Safety’s web page, Washington University Police web page and UMSL Police: 1999 Campus Crime Act Report.)