Wright State University’s Police Department is said to be a helpful resource for the university, as they offer assistance to students when needed and make sure WSU has a safe and secure campus. Here is a brief overview of the WSUPD.
Who is University Police?
WSU’s university police is its own police force that operates specifically on WSU’s campus; it functions as a subset of Public Safety.
"The department supports the university's core values and continually seeks ways to improve the quality of service the campus receives by working in partnership with students, faculty and staff to prevent and deter crime, provide quality services and promote a safe and secure experience while at [WSU]," the department's website states.
To contact university police, students and faculty can always call 911 as a last effort, which will get them transfered to the WSUPD. However, it is encouraged to make a direct call instead. People can call 937-775-2111, which is the specific number for the police on campus, or dial x2111 from any campus phone.
The campus police are available 24 hours per day.
Programs and partnerships
WSU’s public safety department has a program called the Emergency Preparedness Program. This program was put in place to help the campus respond to emergencies that threaten life, property, operations and the environment.
There are four stages of emergency management: these stages are mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Reducing or eliminating the risks of disasters is the mitigation stage.
"It involves efforts to prevent hazards from turning into disasters, such as building codes, land-use planning and strengthening infrastructure," the Emergency Preparedness page explains.
The preparedness stage includes planning, training and educating people to make sure they can respond when disaster strikes. Public Safety integrates emergency plans and procedures into this stage, though they can also offer physical items, like safety kits.
The response stage is how university police directly reacts to disasters. It can involve using emergency services, providing medical care and managing essential resources, like food and water.
Finally, the recovery stage is all about rebuilding and assisting. They do the restructuring and fixing, and ultimately provide long-term help.
Captain Zach Norman said university police has a lot of programs and partnerships on campus and in the whole state of Ohio.
“We have mutual aid agreements with surrounding agencies that would help us in bigger situations. So not only do we have mutual aid agreements with other police departments within Green County, we also have mutual aid agreements with all of the state universities throughout the state of Ohio,” Norman explained.
Not only does university police partner with Greene County and Ohio universities, but the department also partners with plenty of organizations directly on campus. These include Residential Life and Housing staff, Community Standards and Student Conduct, Environmental Health and Safety and Facilities Management.
All of these departments collaborate together to provide a safe and secure campus for WSU.
Coordination with outside agencies
University police also work outside the university and collaborate with other organizations.
“We also have officers train regularly with other agencies throughout the state, and then what happens is then we will bring that information back and share that information with the rest of the department,” Norman said.
These partnerships with other agencies provide great insight and information that they can use to further help students and faculty on WSU’s campus.
As stated before, if you need to contact campus police, call at 937-775-2111 or email wsupolice@wright.edu. Their office is also open 24 hours a day at 108 Allyn Hall.
