Public Safety Crime Prevention Update

By | February 17, 2019

Good Morning Campus Community,

 

I hope everyone is having a happy and safe Spirit Week. We enjoyed seeing students, faculty, and staff at the various events throughout the week. Here are a few things to pass along from Public Safety: 

  • With the recent assaults near campus, now is an excellent time to review some vital safety information for those commuting on or near the College of Charleston campus. The College of Charleston has several resources to help students, faculty, and staff travel safely around campus. As a reminder, the Department of Public Safety is available 24/7 to provide safety escorts to all students, faculty, and staff. The Cougar Shuttle is available for off-campus transportation on the downtown peninsula seven nights a week from 11:00 P.M. – 3:00 A.M., during the fall and spring semesters. For more resources and safety tips, please click here.
  • Keeping the campus safe is a community effort. Please remain observant and report any suspicious activity you may see to Public Safety. Remember, you can anonymously report any non-emergency by calling the Crime Action Line (843) 953-4998 or by filling out a Silent Witness form on our website.
  • Moped thefts, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts from motor vehicles are still on the rise in the Charleston area. Please take necessary precautions to protect your personal property. Never leave the vehicle running while unattended. Be sure to park in well-lit areas and avoid leaving valuable property inside your vehicle. Most importantly, always lock your vehicle. Trends in auto thefts indicate that over half of vehicles stolen are left unlocked at the time of theft. More information can be found here.
  • Do you have concerns about a student’s possible substance abuse, mental health, or worrisome/disruptive behavior?  FAST is an online reporting tool available to facilitate reporting concerns about students so that specialized College staff may better provide help to students who are having academic, financial, or personal problems that will keep them from succeeding at the College.  To make a referral using the FAST reporting system, please click here. Please be aware that the FAST system is not an emergency hotline. For an on-campus emergency, please call Public Safety.
  • Be social with us! If you have not already, please follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram for departmental news, upcoming events, and other important information.  If you are having trouble accessing our pages, please make sure you are signed into your social media account.

 

Crime Prevention Tip:

As a rule of thumb, if you ever receive an email message or phone call from any organization asking you to provide them with personal information, such as your social security number, password, account numbers, etc., you should view any such contact as a potential fraud attempt – do not respond. For more information on how to protect yourself from phishing, visit the IT website

 

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact the Department of Public Safety with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Take Care and Be Safe,  

 

Robert S. Reese,  M.S.M.

Chief of Police

Office of the President

College of Charleston

Campus Safety and Security Area

89 St.Philip Street

Charleston, SC 29424

843-953-2468 (office )

843-953-2105 ( fax )

Email: reeser@cofc.edu

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