Personal Safety
We are responsible and committed to maintain an environment in which a student can excel in the classroom, on the athletic field, through civic engagement, and enjoy a vibrant social life. Achieving this requires partnerships with our faculty, staff, and most important, our students. We have created a comprehensive crime prevention program to educate the community members about threats to the safety of persons and property. This philosophy requires all of the officers in the department to be well-versed in many facets of crime prevention.
Our prevention program minimizes and eliminates criminal opportunities and provides timely information. The Police Department encourages the University community to be responsible for ensuring the safety of themselves, their property and others; to be vigilant and observe your surroundings; to never put yourself in danger; and to report suspicious activity.
To contact the Police Department regarding a crime prevention question, concern or suggestion to improve the safety of the campus community:
- Call (804) 289-8715 and ask to speak with an officer
- Email us at police@richmond.edu
- Stop by the police department and ask to speak with an officer
Crime Prevention and Awareness Programs
The crime prevention programs offered to the community by our department are listed below. While all of the police officers are able to conduct each of these programs, certain officers have elected to obtain specialized training in certain areas. This training allows those officers with specialized training to provide the community with a program that is informative, applicable and appropriate to the needs of the group or individual requesting the program. Please use the appropriate contact person listed for each program.
Crime alerts are posted to the University community on our website whenever there is a need to target a particular crime and inform the community as to the nature of the crime. The description of the possible suspects and detailed instructions on actions to take may help reduce the possibility of becoming a victim.
Personnel from the University Police Department are available to host educational seminars and demonstrations on self-defense, alcohol abuse, driving under the influence, rape awareness, and others. Residence hall and apartment, and upcoming presentations are advertised through sponsoring student organizations, The Collegian, the radio station, and fliers posted throughout the University.
HEAT sheets are designed to promote University crime prevention activities and to provide crime prevention tips by posting bulletins throughout campus. Property identification, residence hall and apartment security, and vehicle theft protection tips are examples of information found on the HEAT sheets. As a part of the HEAT program, engravers are available at the Police Department to mark personal property.
The OOPS program is conducted through the University Police Department with the RAs of campus residence halls and the University Forest Apartments. The program is designed to find unlocked doors in residential units and alert students living in these residences that their doors were found unlocked.
The University Police actively patrol the campus 24 hours a day. It is believed that high visibility of uniformed police officers is an effective deterrent to criminal activity. It is felt that the relatively small number of reported vehicle thefts and burglaries, given the size and extensive nature of our campus, is at least in part a direct result of the efforts made in our University Police operation to have visible police patrol. We hope that this statistical information is relevant in terms of reporting the appropriate and required statistics, yet done in a way which is helpful to you in understanding the context in which these events occur.
The University of Richmond is geographically located within the city of Richmond and the county of Henrico. As judicially appointed police officers, its members have the authority to provide protection and to enforce the laws of Virginia on all University property and adjacent streets. University Police officers have full investigative and arrest authority on campus, as well as on contiguous streets. A criminal or traffic summons issued by the University Police will be adjudicated by the court system of the city of Richmond or the county of Henrico.
The University Police will assist local police departments in monitoring and recording the activity of any students engaged at off-campus locations of student organizations officially recognized by the institution while off campus with coordination and cooperation as needed. This also includes those student organizations with off-campus housing facilities.
The University Police is committed to promoting a strong working relationship with the Virginia State Police, Richmond Police and Henrico County Police. Information received during University Police investigations that may impact other investigations being conducted by the Richmond or Henrico police is provided to the appropriate investigative personnel of that agency. The University of Richmond Police Department has a mutual aid agreement with the Richmond Police Department for investigation of officer-involved shootings.
We encourge all students, faculty and staff to submit an electronic inventory form of valuable items stored in residence halls or offices. These items may include personal and University-owned computers, scanners, printers, stereo equipment, televisions, etc. Please keep a copy of the inventory list in your files. University Police will also keep this information on file, but you should be able to produce a copy of your inventory form in case of theft. Please submit as many copies of the form as needed. If you prefer, you may access the Inventory form in PDF format and fax it to the Crime Prevention Section at x8720.
If have any questions about registration, contact Lieutenant Aubrey Blizzard at 289-8715.
Preventing Bicycle Theft
We also encourage all students, faculty and staff to register bicycles used on campus. After you submit the registration, please visit the University Police Department where you you will be issued a small sticker with a reference number to place on your bicycle. This will aid in the identification of your bicycle if it is lost or stolen.
Other tips for preventing bicycle theft include:
- Always lock your bike to a bicycle rack.
- Do not lock your bike to an unsecured object.
- Use a good quality case-hardened or hardened U-bolt lock.
- Secure the U-bolt lock through the bike frame, the rear wheel and the bicycle rack. If possible, remove the front wheel and secure it with the rear wheel and frame, or run a cable lock through both tires.
- Report suspicious behavior around bicycle racks by using one of the Yellow ERTS phones on campus or by calling (804)289-8715. If you live off campus, call the appropriate police agency.
Operation Identification
Operation Identification is a nationally recognized theft prevention program that involves marking and/or engraving property with traceable ownership information and recording manufactures’ serial numbers and owner-applied identification information on a property inventory form. The University of Richmond Police Department promotes Operation Identification to discourage the theft of valuables. We can now use invisible UV pens to permanently mark property such as electronics and metal or plastic items. These markings will remain invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with the use of a black light. This could help your valuable property be traced back to you should it be stolen and recovered.
Contact us at (804) 289-8715 to learn more about the program or to set up a session to have your valuable property marked. This service is provided for free. We are happy to serve individuals or groups at any time.
The University of Richmond Police Department (URPD) is responsible for receiving missing person(s) reports. URPD is available 24/7 and all missing person(s) should be reported as promptly as possible.
