Campus Police - Safety Facts and Figures for PNC Westville

A safe environment is a top priority at Purdue University North Central. With the support of other departments, Campus Police work to keep our campus safe and secure. However, a truly safe campus can be achieved only through cooperation of all concerned. The information in this brochure will help foster a safe environment for you and others at the University.

Campus Police

Purdue North Central staffs its own professional police force responsible for campus safety and security. The department is located in the Physical Facilities/Campus Police Building and operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Purdue police officers have the same powers of arrest and law enforcement as city, county and state officers. All campus officers are graduates of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. Some have also graduated from the FBI National Academy. The department works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. There is no written memorandum of understanding between PNC Police department and other agencies. You may also learn more about the services we provide by visiting the PNC web page: www.pnc.edu/pd/index.html.

The Campus Police work diligently to provide safe campus facilities. Through everyone’s effort and the cooperation of students and staff, we are able to maintain an exceptionally safe campus environment where crime of any type is quite rare. But, you can play a key role in our crime prevention efforts. Everyone needs to be diligent about being cautious, careful, alert to your own safety and protective of both your property and that of the university.

Emergencies and Crime Reporting

Students, faculty, staff and guests of the University should report emergencies and criminal activity to the Campus Police department. To report an emergency, dial 911 from any campus phone. In addition, there are four red emergency phones on campus. One is located in Schwarz Hall, one in the Technology Building and two in the Library-Student-Faculty Building – all of which automatically connect to the police department when the handset is picked up. To report criminal or suspicious activity in which there is no immediate danger to persons or property, dial 5220 from any campus phone or 785-5220 from an off campus phone. An officer will take a report and follow up on the complaint, in a timely and professional manner. The University does not allow victims or witnesses to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis. Adherence to all University, local, state and federal laws and rules of conduct, as well as a measure of common sense, will help enhance security on campus. At PNC – Porter County, report all emergencies and criminal or suspicious activity to the Valparaiso Police Department at either 8-911 or 8-462-2135.

Emergency Text System Available

PNC now offers a voluntary emergency text message system to all students and university employees. You may sign up for
the service by logging into the “My PNC” portal and clicking on the “Emergency Text System link.” A university-issued username is needed in order to subscribe. This service will be used exclusively for closing announcements and campus emergency alerts.

Emergency Response

The University’s Emergency Response Plan includes information about the Campus Emergency Resource Team; notification procedures; specific emergency procedures such as shelter-in-place and evacuation guidelines. The University conducts emergency response exercises each year and tests of the emergency notification systems on campus. Tests may be announced or unannounced. For each test, the university documents a description of the exercise, the date, time and whether the test was announced or unannounced. These tests are designed to assess and evaluate the emergency plans and capabilities of the institution. PNC police officers and supervisors have received training in Incident Command and Responding to Critical Incidents on Campus. When a serious incident occurs that causes an immediate threat to the campus, the first responders to the scene are usually PNC Campus Police, LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, Westville Fire Department and LaPorte County Emergency Medical Services, and they typically respond and work together to manage the incident. Depending on the nature of the incident, other PNC departments and other local or federal agencies could also be involved in responding to the incident. General information about the emergency response and evacuation procedures for PNC are publicized each year as part of the institution’s Clery Act compliance efforts and in conjunction with emergency notification system tests, and that information is available on the PNC Campus Police website by clicking on Emergency Guide.

Notification to the PNC Community about an Immediate Threat

The Campus Emergency Resource Team and Campus Relations receive information from various offices/departments on campus, such as PNC Campus Police and Radiological & Environmental Management (REM). If PNC Campus Police or REM confirms that there is an emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all members of the PNC community, PNC Campus Police and Campus Relations will collaborate to determine the content of the message and will use some or all of the systems described below to communicate the threat to the PNC community or to the appropriate segment of the community, if the threat is limited to a particular building or segment of the population. PNC Campus Police and Campus Relations will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of the first responders (including, but not limited to: police, fire and/or EMS), compromise the efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. In the event of a serious incident that poses an immediate threat to members of the PNC community, the University has various systems in place for communicating information quickly. Some or all of these methods of communication may be activated in the event of an immediate threat to the PNC campus community. These methods of communication include emails, announcements on the buildings internal PA system, emergency text messages that can be sent to a phone or PDA (individuals can sign up for this service on the PNC website), emergency messages will also pop up on computer screens when logged into the University system and on the main page of the PNC web site. The University will post updates during a critical incident on the PNC website. PNC community members are encouraged to notify PNC Campus Police of any situation or incident on campus that involves a significant emergency or dangerous situation that may involve an immediate or ongoing threat to the health and safety of students and/or employees on campus. PNC Campus Police has the responsibility of responding to, and summoning the necessary resources, to mitigate, investigate, and document any situation that may cause a significant emergency or dangerous situation. In addition, PNC Campus Police has a responsibility to respond to such incidents to determine if the situation does in fact, pose a threat to the community. If so, Federal Law requires that the institution notify the campus community or the appropriate segments of the community that may be affected by the situation. The notification may be expanded to the community through news releases, radio, etc. based on the judgment of the incident commander or public safety official.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures

Evacuation drills are coordinated by the Campus Emergency Resource Team for the PNC campus. Thus, the emergency response and evacuation procedures are tested at least one to two times each year. These drills are announced in advance, detailing what everyone is expected to do. Students, faculty and staff learn the locations of the emergency exits in the buildings and are provided guidance about the direction they should travel when exiting each facility for a building evacuation. The purpose of evacuation drills is to prepare building occupants for an organized evacuation in case of a fire or other emergency. At PNC, evacuation drills are used as a way to educate and train occupants on fire safety issues specific to their building. During the drill, occupants ‘practice’ drill procedures and familiarize themselves with the location of exits and the sound of the fire alarm. Evacuation drills are monitored by PNC Campus Police, Community Emergency Response Team and the Emergency Resource Team to evaluate egress and behavioral patterns. Debriefing reports are prepared that identify problems and deficient equipment so that repairs can be made immediately. Recommendations for improvements are also submitted for consideration.

Campus Security Authority

In addition to the Campus Police, the following individuals are responsible for forwarding reports of crimes for inclusion in this report.

• Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Karen Schmid
• Director of Student Athletics, John Weber
• Director of Student Activities, Keri Marrs Barron

These persons are willing to assist students and others in the University community in making crime reports to police agencies having jurisdiction. The University does not have any procedures encouraging pastoral and professional counselors to inform the persons they are counseling of any procedures to report crimes on a confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics.

Reported Crimes

Purdue North Central publishes and distributes this report or the notice of the existence of this report on a yearly basis to faculty, staff, students, prospective students and prospective employees. Statistics are gathered from crimes reported to the Campus Police department, crimes reported to the LaPorte County Police Department and campus security authorities.

Crime incidents and crime statistics are regularly released to students. This includes publication of 3-year crime statistics. Occasional safety awareness and crime prevention articles are provided to the student newspaper.

The reportable crimes are Murder, Negligent and Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Forcible and Non-Forcible Sex Offenses, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft and Arson. Also reportable are arrests for and those students referred for disciplinary sanctions for Liquor Law Violations, Drug Law Violations and Illegal Weapons Possessions.

Purdue North Central retains the authority to monitor through local police agencies and discipline students for any criminal activity engaged in off-campus by the students of the University. This includes students engaged at off-campus locations of student organizations officially recognized by the University and those student organizations with off-campus housing facilities when and where available.

Annual Crime Statistics (based on the reporting year of January 1 through December 31)
Category	Year	On Campus	Non-Campus Bldg or Property	Public Property
Murder Non-Negligent Manslaughter	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Negligent Manslaughter	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Sex Offenses Forcible	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Sex Offenses Non Forcible	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Robbery	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Aggravated Assault	2009 2010 2011	0 0 1	0 0 0	0 0 0
Burglary	2009 2010 2011	5 7 8	0 0 0	0 0 0
Motor Vehicle Theft	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Arson	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Arrest for  Liquor Law Violations	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Arrest for Drug-Related Violations	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Arrest for Weapons Possession	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Disciplinary Referrals Liquor Law Violations	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Disciplinary Referrals Drug-Related Violations	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Disciplinary Referrals Weapons Violations	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Annual Hate Crime Statistics
Race	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Gender	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Religion	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Sexual Orientation	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Ethnicity	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Disability	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Only reported if motivated by bias as determined by the one of the six biases categories
Larceny-Theft	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Simple Assault	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Intimidation	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
Destruction/damage/ vandalism of property	2009 2010 2011	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
The definition of a hate crime is when the victim was intentionally selected because of the actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability of the victim. Also, those crimes involving bodily injury to any person in which the victim was intentionally selected because of the actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability of the victim. Residence Halls statistics not applicable for the Purdue North Central Campus. Note: The crime statistics are based on the reporting year January 1 through December 31.

Crime Log

Campus Police maintain a daily crime log of the date, time, location, case number and disposition of all crimes filed with the Department. Entries and updates are made in the log within two business days. The initial log is maintained for sixty days. Requests for data beyond sixty days will be provided to the requestor within two business days.

Building Security

All academic buildings are open and available for use from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays. All buildings are secured on Sundays and holidays. Campus police officers patrol all campus buildings, grounds and parking areas 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to report broken locks or doors and any burnt-out lights on walkways and parking areas. All of these items are maintained by the Physical Plant.

Crime - Prevention and Safety

The University has several ongoing programs to inform students and employees about the prevention of crimes and services to address safety and security issues including:

• Safe Walk Program. Campus Police provide on-
  campus safety escorts for students, faculty and staff.
  Anyone who desires the service may request a safety
  escort by calling 5220.
• Exterior Campus Facilities. Exterior campus facilities are routinely surveyed regularly for adequate lighting levels. Trees and shrubberies which critically impair lighting levels in walkways are appropriately pruned.
• Group Presentations. Campus Police officers are available to present safety and security talks to campus and community groups anytime upon request.
• Crime Alerts. Crime Alerts are issued by Campus Police in a timely manner for the purpose of placing the campus community on alert for the threat of repetition of crimes that are considered to be a threat to students and employees. Suggested precautionary actions may accompany crime alerts. Campus Police will post crime alerts on bulletin boards in the common areas of campus buildings and by email.
• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Trained faculty and staff personnel respond to major emergencies and give critical support to Campus Police. The team provides immediate assistance to victims and organizes volunteers in the event of a campus disaster.
• Self-defense Awareness & Familiarization Exchange (S.A.F.E.). This two-hour course is designed to provide participants with valuable information on how to become more aware of their surroundings and introduces pre-basic defensive familiarization options.
• Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.). The women of Purdue North Central have access to the basic and advanced RAD program, a unique comprehensive approach to women’s safety. The primary focus is on the realistic development of self-defense options for women in situations of imminent or actual attack.

For information on R.A.D. or S.A.F.E., call Campus Police at 785-5220 or email campus_police@pnc.edu.

Alcohol and Drug Policy

The University prohibits the possession, use and sale of alcohol on campus and enforces state laws that prohibit possession of alcohol by a minor (less that 21 years old); providing alcohol to a minor and misrepresentation of age to obtain alcohol. The University also prohibits the use, possession or sale of illegal drugs and enforces Federal and State drug laws. Violators of drug and alcohol laws will be subject to prosecution and persons who violate University drug and alcohol policies will be subject to University disciplinary proceedings. Students may obtain assistance for drug and alcohol problems by contacting the Dean of Students Office. Employees may seek assistance through the University’s Employee Assistance Program. Brochures detailing the University drug and alcohol policies can be obtained from the Dean of Students Office or Human Resources. Purdue Executive Memorandum C-44 explains the Purdue University Alcohol and Drug Free Campus and Workplace Policy. Information also is available at www.pnc.edu/cd/policy/drug.html.

Sexual Assault and Rape

All reports of sexual assaults shall be investigated in a timely, professional manner consistent with Indiana state law. Victims will be assisted with any criminal and/or on-campus disciplinary proceedings that may occur. Educational material aimed at self-protection, rape and crime victims, along with other material concerning sexual assault, is available from the Dean of Students Office and Campus Police. If requested and reasonably available, rape or sexual assault victims can rearrange their academic schedule. This will be facilitated by the Dean of Students Office. When University disciplinary hearings are held concerning alleged sexual assault, the student and the student’s accuser are entitled to the same opportunities to have others present during the hearing and both the student and the student’s accuser shall be informed of the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings brought alleging a sex offense. University sanctions in cases involving sex offenses for students and employees may include disciplinary probation, probated suspension, suspension, and expulsion. Students will be advised of existing on- and off-campus counseling, mental health or other student services for victims of sex offenses.

Rape Victims:

If you are the victim of a rape, get to a safe place as soon as you can. Then you should:

• Try to preserve all physical evidence. Do not bathe, douche, use the toilet, or change clothing.
• Notify the police even if you are unsure about filing charges.
• Get medical attention as soon as possible. The police will assist you with this.
• Call a close friend or other trusted person who can be with you during your interview with the police.
• Use the Victim-Assistance and/or other community agencies including the office of the Dean of Students and Counseling and Psychological Services.
• If you request their assistance, University personnel will assist you in notifying the police.

Sex Offender Registry and Access to Related Material

The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, section 1601 of Public Law 106-386, is a federal law that provides for the tracking of convicted sex offenders enrolled at or employed by institutions of higher education. The act’s intent is to extend the protection of the sex offender registries and Megan’s Law to college campuses. It also amends the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to require institutions of higher education to issue a statement advising the campus community where to obtain law enforcement agency information provided by a state concerning registered sex offenders.

The Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry may be checked online at www.in.gov/serv/cji_sor, www.indianasheriffs.org, www.nsopr.gov. and http://www.sheriffalerts.com/cap_main.php?office=54849. Megan’s Law can be found online at www.klaaskids.org.

Weapons Possession

The possession, use or distribution of any explosives, guns, or other deadly or dangerous materials or weapons, is prohibited on campus property unless authorized by the Campus Police Department.

Dean of Students Office

The Dean of Students staff have a variety of services available for students, including victim assistance, confidential counseling about personal concerns and information about University resources.

Matters related to student conduct are the responsibility of the Dean of Students staff. Established due process procedures are described in University Regulations.

In cases involving a student accused of violating any regulation governing student conduct, disciplinary action may be initiated. Such actions follow established due process procedures as described in University Regulations.

General Information

The Dean of Students and the Campus Police have a variety of
publications addressing such issues as date rape, alcohol abuse, theft prevention, and other safety issues.

As required by federal law (Clery Act and its amendments) and
Purdue University Campus Security and Crime Statistics Policy
(I. 2.2), the University prepares an annual security report titled “Your Guide to Campus Safety” containing statistics and information relating to campus safety and security procedures and programs. The report is available at www.pnc.edu/pd/safety.html. If you would like a paper copy of the report please call 219-785-5220 or email campus_police@pnc.edu.

 

911 - Emergency Number
24-Hour Police Department