Dept. of Public Safety

  1. MSSU Department of Public SafetyAll crimes occurring on campus should be reported immediately to the MSSU Department of Public Safety Campus Police.  DPS officers are available on campus 24 hours of every day.  The emergency number to reach DPS is 626-2222 or just 2222 from a phone on campus.  Someone is scheduled to be in the office anytime classes are in session.  When no one is in the office the phone automatically rolls to a cell phone carried by an on-duty officer on campus.  DPS officers will respond to all calls on campus, regardless of the nature and offer assistance.  Since March of 2008 (when the Board of Governor’s established a Campus Police Department) criminal cases are investigated by the MSSU DPS Campus Police Department.  DPS officers are required to report all serious crimes and other crimes as required by Uniform Crime Reports submitted to the National Crime Information Center with the FBI.

  2. Each student is responsible for becoming aware of the parking and traffic regulations booklet provided to all freshmen.  It is necessary for DPS officers to enforce these regulations to ensure the safety of all students, visitors and faculty/staff members on campus. 

  3. All academic buildings are secured during the evenings and weekends.  Access to the buildings is only allowed for faculty/staff members and students who are accompanied by faculty/staff members.  DPS officers routinely patrol the campus to ensure security.  All residence halls, except Blaine Hall, are locked at midnight Sunday-Thursday and at 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.  One DPS officer is on duty in the residence halls from 11:30 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. each day.

  4. The MSSU DPS Campus Police has an excellent working relationship with area agencies and has mutual aid agreements with the Joplin Police Department, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and the Duquesne Police Department.  Some of the DPS officers are not commissioned law enforcement officers at this time, but all have completed the coursework necessary to meet the state requirements to be commissioned. 

  5. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) requires that these policies and statistics about crime on campus be made available to students and the entire campus community so that “informed decisions” may be made.  The Clery Act also requires a timely warning to be given to the campus community in certain instances.  In accordance with the act, the MSSU DPS will issue a crime alert in a timely manner for safety risks and to aid in the prevention of similar crimes.  Specifically, these crimes will include situations that are reported to the DPS and that are considered serious or continuing threats to the campus population.  Warnings will be communicated via e-mails, the Emergency Early Warning System (ring down of office phones in each building), text messages (through Rave system), posted notices, and/or media sources at the discretion of the Director of the Department of Public Safety.  No warnings will be issued without the approval of the Director of Public Safety or the Director of Physical Plant Operations.

  6. These policies and procedures are published in the Student Handbook and distributed to all freshmen students.  Each semester, during freshman orientations, students are given tips regarding personal safety, preventing thefts, date rape prevention and how DPS officers can help to make students more successful.

  7. Crime prevention programs are presented each semester by the Campus Activities Board, Student Services and the Residence Halls Association.  Pamphlets regarding crime prevention are distributed to all resident students and are made available at the Student Center.  A Rape Aggression Defense Class (RAD) will be offered by the MSSU DPS to all MSSU female students at no cost each semester.  See MSSU “Sexual Assault Prevention and Response” policy for additional details.

  8. MSSU does not have off-campus student organizations that are recognized by the institution.

  9. In addition to our Web site, crime stats, as required through the Clery Act, are available at the DPS campus office. Visit the campus map.

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