Safety on Campus
Boston University Police Department
The Boston University Police Department’s mission is to assure the safety and security of all persons and property on campus. The Police Department responds to and investigates crimes, maintains order and safety, and enforces Massachusetts laws and University regulations. The department is committed to community-based policing.
The Boston University Police Department is a full-time, professional law enforcement agency that also provides a wide variety of public services—including emergency medical assistance—to the Boston University community. Patrols are conducted throughout the campus area twenty-four hours a day. Emergency response time is generally under three minutes to any location on campus.
Boston University employs more than fifty state-certified and deputized police officers. All new officers complete the same five-month police academy training required of municipal officers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Each officer must also complete at least forty hours of additional classroom training a year, and must demonstrate safety and proficiency with issued equipment, such as firearms, twice each year. Additionally, all officers receive tactical training in the event they must respond to a potentially violent individual or situation. Officers also take specialized training courses offered by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other professional organizations.
All Boston University police officers are empowered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to enforce criminal laws and to make arrests not only on the campus grounds but also in the areas surrounding the University. They also hold appointments as Deputy Sheriffs of Suffolk County and Norfolk County.
The Boston University Police Department has an excellent record for the arrest and prosecution of criminal offenders. Our work has received formal recognition from the Boston Police Commissioner and from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. The department is widely recognized as one of the best-trained and most professional law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts.
Members of the Boston University Police Department attend community meetings of the many residence associations to provide residents with up-to-date crime prevention information, and to hear their concerns about crime and safety issues.
The Medical Campus also has assigned community policing officers.
For more information, please visit the website or e-mail bupolice@bu.edu.
