Safety & Security
The University and the Department of Resident Life take many steps that contribute toward maintaining a safer and more secure environment. However, a truly safe campus can only be achieved through the cooperation of all its community members. Each individual resident has primary responsibility for their own safety and security.
University Police
Non-Emergency Phone: (301) 405-3555
Emergency Phone: (301) 405-3333
Website: University of Maryland Police Department
Department of Transportation Services
Phone: (301) 314-2255
Website: Department of Transportation Services
Police escort & N.I.T.E. Ride
Take Proactive Steps
Do not let others into your building
Do not let others into your building or onto residential floors, stairwells, elevators, etc. unless you know them as residents of your building. Anyone you can't identify as a resident of your building should be asked to call the resident they are coming to visit. Close and latch any door you may find propped. Immediately confront and/or report anyone you see letting strangers into your building or propping a door. Keep your room doors and windows closed and locked.
If you see something, say something
Immediately report suspicious persons or activity to police. Don't make judgments about what may or may not be a serious situation and don't assume that someone else has called the police. Calls to police are taken by a dispatcher whose first job is to have uniformed police respond to the scene to assess the situation. The dispatcher will ask your name and address, and investigating officers may request to talk with you later. Information can be given anonymously by calling the non-emergency number, (301) 405-3555.
Do not put yourself at risk or in danger
Plan ahead, so that you run your errands and end your outings at an early hour, when more people are out and about. Plan and use the safest route, not necessarily the shortest one. Make sure roommates or friends know your plans, including how and when you'll get back home.
Save UMPD's # on your phone
University of Maryland Police can be reached at (301) 405-3333 or #3333. Take time now to pre-program this number into your phone. If you call 911 from a phone, you will reach Prince George's County Police and you should ask to be transferred to University of Maryland Police.
If you are victimized
Contact police immediately by calling (301) 405-3333 or 911. Tell the dispatcher where you are located and what happened to you. Stay on the phone until you are told it is okay to hang up. Stay in your same location, if it is safe to do so, until police arrive. Provide additional information to police as you learn it or recall it.
Know what to do if approached
It is not necessary, and may not be advisable, to confront someone who has a weapon or is angry enough to inflict harm on another person. If you should come upon a situation like this, as naturally as possible, move away to your room, a friend's room, a group of people, a well-lighted area, etc. Then, call police at 911, (301) 405-3333, or #3333.
After dark, never walk alone
Walk with friends or in a group or ride Shuttle-UM. Walk in well-lighted paths. Know the location of the nearest emergency phones.
Going to your car after dark:
- Walk with a friend, then have them drop you off at your residence hall as they drive away.
Coming back to campus alone after dark:
- Call ahead to a friend who'll meet you at the front door, then walk with you from the parking lot, or request an escort from Police (301) 405-3555.
Your Actions
Stay safe and alert by following these tips.
Safe Choices
- Get your exercise or run your errands in the daytime or early evening, not late
- Walk or jog/run in groups
- Carry a cellular phone
- Stay alert to what's happening around you; report suspicious behavior/activity
- Plan your route; stay on populated, well-lit walks
- Know locations of blue-light emergency phones
Unsafe Choices
- Walking or jogging/running alone, especially into dark or isolated areas
- Taking a shortcut through dark areas or areas where someone could be hiding
- Wearing headphones (distracts you from your surroundings)
- Not reporting suspicious persons or activity to Police
- Use of alcohol, other drugs, medications, etc., that affect your judgement
Never hesitate to call University Police
Call University Police at 911 or (301) 405-3555. If you ever see a situation involving fighting between partners or groups, threatening actions or statements, screams, suspicious persons or behavior, weapons, etc., do not hesitate to call police immediately. Then, call your Service Desk or CA.
Police & Security Patrols
Every night of the semester, the residential communities of the campus and the surrounding areas are being monitored by:
- University Police officers in marked and unmarked police cars (24 hours daily), motorcycles, bicycles and on foot patrols.
- Surveillance cameras at more than 500 selected locations (outdoors, inside parking garages and libraries) across the campus (24 hours daily).
Escorts/N.I.T.E. Ride
Escorts by uniformed Police officers or Student Police Aides are available 24 hours any day by calling (301) 405-3555.
For curb-to-curb service by N.I.T.E. Ride vans from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. any day, just call (301) 314-6483. Please use N.I.T.E. Ride when evening transit routes are not in service or if your pick-up location or destination is not on an evening transit route.
These services can be requested from any blue-light emergency phone; the police dispatcher who answers your call will summon a police escort for you or transfer you to N.I.T.E. Ride.
Evening Transit Routes
Shuttle-UM scheduled evening transit routes operate seven nights a week from 5:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., with buses stopping outside most residence halls, apartments, and along Fraternity Row every 15 to 35 minutes. This is your convenient and safe way to visit friends in other parts of campus and go to libraries, student union, College Park shopping district, College Park Metro station, etc.
Visit the Department of Transportation Service website to view schedules for Shuttle-UM transit service evening routes (Blue, Gold, Orange, Purple, Green and College Park Metro).
Car Lockouts, Jump Starts
(301) 314-4227
Crime Reporting
(301) 405-3555
Escort Services
(301) 405-3555
Health Center
(301) 314-8180
Sexual Assault Hotline
(301) 314-2222
Key & Lock Problems
(301) 314-9675
Medical Emergency
911
Police Emergency
911 or (301) 405-3333
N.I.T.E. Ride
(301) 314-6483
Department of Transportation Services
(301) 314-7275
Police Non-Emergency
(301) 405-3555
Security Lighting
(301) 405-2222
Security Repairs
(301) 314-9675