As a parent, you know that there is nothing more important than the safety of your student. At Southern Miss, the safety of our students, faculty and staff is not just a priority but a value and way of life. In fact, Southern Miss is the first and only university in Mississippi to have achieved recognition status through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. At Southern Miss, care and concern for our community’s well-being enhances our academic mission.

University Police Department
Eagle Alert
Campus Safety
Residence Hall Safety
Campus Shuttles and Escorts
Drug and Alcohol Policy

University Police Department
The University of Southern Mississippi Police Department (UPD) is the police force of original jurisdiction on campus. It is staffed by 27 duly sworn, state-certified police officers with full arrest powers. Each officer has successfully completed the state’s basic law enforcement academy and regularly attends other advanced and in-service training programs. UPD works closely with other local and state law enforcement agencies, including the Hattiesburg Police Department, Forrest County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control and the local FBI office. To find out more about UPD and other information about campus crime statistics and prevention, please visit the University Police web site.

Eagle Alert
In 2008, Southern Miss implemented Eagle Alert, a new component of the campus emergency notification system. Through Eagle Alert, students, faculty and staff will receive emergency messages via text and voice messages to cell phones and home phones. This new system will allow Southern Miss to better inform our campus of emergency situations. To learn more about how Eagle Alert will help your student, click here.

Campus Safety
A variety of features and practices are in place at Southern Miss to promote safe campus conditions.

• Emergency Telephones: Twenty-three code blue emergency phones are strategically located throughout the campus. These highly visible phones allow callers to contact UPD with the single push of a button. Once activated, the location of the phone is immediately displayed to the UPD dispatch.
• Campus Lighting: Campus lighting is a high priority, and improving lighting conditions is a continual effort throughout the year. There are lighted routes to all academic buildings and residence halls. Additionally, shrubbery control is an ongoing project for the Physical Plant and UPD. Hedges, trees and shrubbery are trimmed regularly to enhance visibility and lighting on campus. UPD officers conduct a security survey of the campus at the beginning of each semester.
• Crime Reports: UPD provides a weekly synopsis of police activities and crime reports to The Student Printz, the campus newspaper; the Department of Marketing and Public Relations; the vice president for Student Affairs; and other university officials. Crime reports are also available to the public online through the University Police Department Web site.
• Southern Miss Crime Stoppers: The Crime Stoppers program allows the Southern Miss community to anonymously report criminal activity occurring on campus and receive a monetary reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Residence Hall Safety
Nearly 80 percent of entering freshmen live on campus in a residence hall, and UPD and the Department of Residence Life collaborate in the safety and comfort of students living on campus. Staff members are present to monitor and check in visitors during visitation hours beginning at noon until midnight. Each residence hall has a controlled access system that features computerized main entrance locks that record the date, time and person who enters the building. Each resident is issued a student ID that allows entrance into his/her residence hall only. The UPD also conducts educational programs in residence halls on residence hall rules, crime prevention, personal safety and other related issues.

Educational Programs
The UPD provides educational programs throughout the year to the university community. The following are examples of some of the programs provided:

The RAD Program

• Personal Safety
• Operation ID
• Drugs, Alcohol and the Law
• Crime Prevention and the Workplace
• Property Security

The department also provides a self-defense course for women, called R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense). The R.A.D. course is coordinated by the crime prevention unit and is presented by trained police personnel. For more information about these programs, visit the University Police Department Web site.

Campus Shuttles and Escorts
The UPD provides a 24-hour escort service, seven days a week. Escorts are provided upon request to those who have legitimate concerns for their personal safety when moving about campus. Red escort phones are conveniently located in buildings throughout the campus.

Drug and Alcohol Policy
The University of Southern Mississippi prohibits the unlawful possession, consumption and distribution of alcoholic beverages by students and employees on its campus. Further, any possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages of any kind in plain view shall be considered a violation of campus policy. Privacy rights of students in their residential space will be respected, but any public nuisance coming from private space related to the consumption of alcohol shall bring the full force of this policy and applicable state law into play. The concealment of illegal alcohol consumption from plain open view does not preclude the enforcement of state laws or this policy for other just cause.

Students who violate this policy may be criminally prosecuted and be subjected to disciplinary actions ranging from probation with educational sanctions to suspension to expulsion. Students accused of violating these policies are afforded full due process under the University Code of Student Conduct. The university reserves the right to assign special circumstances to each individual case.

The Office of the Dean of Students reserves the right to notify the parents of students under the age of 21 who violate alcohol and other drug provisions of the student code of conduct, or who in our professional judgment are considered to be a danger to themselves or others. Upon receipt of an alcohol or other drug violation by a student under the age of 21, the dean of students will staff the case and make a decision regarding parental notification based on the particular circumstances of the offense and the student’s history. Parents will be notified by letter or phone, depending on the circumstances of the case.