Department of Public Safety

Department of Public Safety

For emergencies, call 911! Criminal, threatening or suspicious activity, as well as injury or serious illness, should be reported promptly by calling Public Safety at 859-985-3333.

To receive safety and emergency alerts as text messages to your mobile phone, sign on to the myBerea portal, navigate to the My Accounts tab, click on the Safety and Emergency Alert Subscriptions menu entry and follow the steps. You can also create an e2Campus Account.

Mission

Public Safety’s mission is to provide for the safety of students, employees, and visitors through hazard mitigation, planning, response, and emergency notification to allow students and employees to learn and work safely and successfully, and to support Berea’s Great Commitments through our work and customer service.

As an integral part of the Berea College community, Public Safety strives to achieve the following program objectives:

Public Safety will maintain an average response time of less than six minutes and an emergency response time average (criminal activity, fire alarms, and medical emergencies) of less than five minutes.
Key requests and access control requests to be completed in two business days at an 85% success rate.
Public Safety will sponsor/co-sponsor at least 5 outreach programs annually.
At least 90% of staff, students, and faculty members will be enrolled with updated contact information each year into the Omnilert E2 Campus system in any given year.

About

Criminal, threatening or suspicious activity, as well as injury or serious illness, should be reported promptly by calling Public Safety at 859-985-3333.

Officers have direct radio contact with Berea and Madison County emergency response personnel and can contact other agencies for assistance when conditions necessitate.

Public Safety is the central reporting and data management office for a criminal activity relating to the campus community. Incident reports are entered into an electronic database and compiled by the department at the end of each calendar year for purposes of crime reporting.

If 911 is dialed in error, be sure to stay on the line and tell the operator that it is not an emergency.

911 is to be used only for a confirmed emergency situation which require immediate assistance of police, ambulance or fire personnel. 911 rings directly to the Madison County Emergency Response Center 24 hours a day. An enhanced 911 system is also in operation in Berea and Madison County. Please use discretion and dial 911 only in cases of true emergency. If 911 is dialed in error, be sure to stay on the line and tell the operator that it is not an emergency.

Students and employees are notified by brochures, materials printed in the student handbook and email related to reporting crimes to campus Public Safety and to local law enforcement officials.

The Public Safety Director is the person responsible for the proper notification to State Fire Marshall’s Office for all fires and threats of fire.

All accidents and injuries involving students, guests, or employees should be reported to Public Safety as soon as possible. Investigative reports at accident scenes are made to help in determining if a situation exists which could pose a threat of injury or illness to others. When the institution is aware of a potential hazard, its officials take appropriate steps to provide timely warning to members of the campus community. Any criminal activity occurring on campus must be reported to Public Safety. All reports are investigated. Students and staff, of course, have the option of reporting crime directly to the city police (859-624-4776) or 911 and to request police assistance at any time during an investigation. The Berea Police Department is given an electronic copy of campus criminal activity reports.

Reports of incidents can be made via phone to Public Safety at (859)985-3333, email at public_safety@berea.edu, or through the LiveSafe App, which can be downloaded here for Iphone or here for Android.

Berea College Public Safety, located at the Alumni Building Basement, is the central point of contact for all matters related to the safety and health of the college community and all issues related to personal security and protection of property. To report crimes, injuries, or ask general security questions, please contact Public Safety at extension 3333 from any on-campus phone. If you are calling from off-campus or from a cell phone, please call 859-985-3333.

During power outages or network/phone outages, Public Safety can be reached via a cell phone number, 859-200-0805. This number is only monitored/answered during power or network outages. Public Safety can be reached for non-emergency via email at public_safety@berea.edu. This email address is checked and answered at all hours. This email address should not be utilized to notify Public Safety of any urgent matters. All emergencies should be reported to Public Safety as soon as possible, via phone.

Berea College has developed policies and procedures, offers educational programs, cooperates with local law enforcement agencies, and supports a Department of Public Safety to enhance the safety and security of its students, employees, and guests. The college recognizes shared responsibility for the welfare of the community. This publication, in addition to outlining the institution’s efforts in this regard, reminds students and employees of their personal responsibility to take prudent precautions and to inform others, especially Public Safety, about known safety hazards or security concerns. More detailed information on the following sections can be found in the Catalog and Student Handbook or by calling the departments of Public Safety or Student Life.

The Department of Public Safety provides 24-hour service to the campus employing 14 full-time staff which includes a Director, three Public Safety Officer Shift Leaders, six Public Safety Officers, Telecommunications Team Leader, five full-time Telecommunicators, a Security Systems Coordinator, and approximately fifteen Student Associates who work 10 hours or more each week. None are sworn law enforcement officials. The department works closely with the Berea Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies when appropriate and necessary. Current signed agreements with local and state law enforcement agencies are limited to radio communication and motor vehicle license information.

Officers’ expertise includes law enforcement, criminal and accident investigation, security patrol and crime prevention, fire safety, hazardous materials, defensive driving, parking and traffic control, basic first aid, and CPR/AED. Telecommunicators expertise include APCO certification for Telecommunication, CTO training, FEMA, APCO Instructor, basic first aid, and CPR/AED.

The Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act (Clery Act)

The Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act signed into law in November 1990, requires that all institutions of higher education report annually to students and employees on specific campus crime statistics and security policies and procedures. This report meets the requirements of that law and demonstrates compliance with the Federal Drug Free Schools and Communities Acts Amendments of 1989 to the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Read the Annual Security Report

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