Police Services

SPECIAL INFORMATION HOTLINE :
901-678-0888

WHY OUR CAMPUS IS SAFE

Effective leadership, proper planning and sound communication form the framework for all of our campus safety initiatives. The UofM has a number of provisions in place to promote the safety of its students, faculty and staff year round.

• More than 30 commissioned police officers patrol the campus and surrounding neighborhoods 24 hours a day.
• Web-based digital cameras are positioned both inside and outside of buildings to monitor interior spaces as well as building entrances, parking lots and campus streets.
• Emergency telephones, which automatically dial the police dispatcher, can be found around campus (blue light phones) and in the lobbies of academic buildings (red phones).
• The University’s Crisis Management Team has an extensive emergency management plan. The group meets regularly to be proactive and conduct drills. This plan is available online at memphis.edu/crisis.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It is important that you know how to respond if an emergency occurs. Have your own emergency plan in place. See www.ready.gov for more information.

• Program 901.678.HELP (4357) into your cell phone. This will reach the police dispatcher immediately.
• Call 901.678.HOME (4663) if you would like a Tiger Escort. This service is available from dusk until dawn, seven days a week.
• If you dial 911 from any campus phone, this call will go to the University police dispatcher.
• Always be aware of your surroundings and protect your valuables.
• At UofM Lambuth call 731.412.9413 for security, police or an escort.

HOW WE COMMUNICATE

In the event of an emergency, the University of Memphis has several means of notification in place. We recognize that no one method is effective for all students, faculty, staff and visitors, so we rely on a variety of communication channels.

• Email alerts – go to anyone with a memphis.edu email account
• LiveSafe smartphone app – students, faculty, staff and visitors can download to have two-way communication with police personnel, receive alerts and notifications, or use a virtual escort with the SafeWalk feature
• Outdoor emergency warning system towers
• Public address systems – mounted on University police cars
• Special information hotline: 901.678.0888
• Phone trees
• Trained residence hall staff
• Local news media
• Civil defense/tornado sirens

The University of Memphis Police Services – Quick Facts 2022

• UofM Police Services is a state-certified, police agency.  Our police officers meet all Tennessee employment and training requirements for police officers.  
• We have two locations:  
  • 505 Zach Curlin in the parking garage (next to Parking Services) and the
  • Hudson Health Center.
• University police officers patrol the campus and surrounding streets.  Our officers have enforcement powers anywhere in Memphis to address UofM issues.
• We work 24/7/365, patrolling in cars, on bikes, and on foot.  We also have contract security guards who assist us at night.  
• Our police officers are trained in several specific areas including:  first responder, response to high risk incidents, crisis intervention, and EMA CERT Training.
• Our detectives work closely with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and the Attorney General’s Office on prosecution and on specialized cases.  We receive daily updates from the MPD.  
• We are actively involved in the Memphis Metropolitan Association of Chiefs of Police (MMACP) and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP).
• Our website (http://www.memphis.edu/police/) contains helpful information such as
  • safety awareness brochures
  • our Clery Campus Safety Report
  • a daily incident log
  • an emergency phone map
  • our Silent Witness e-form for reporting anonymous crimes or suspicious activity.
• We annually compare Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) statistics for ALL reported incidents with the following schools, which have more than 5,000 students and a campus police department
  • APSU in Clarksville
  • ETSU in Johnson City
  • MTSU in Murfreesboro
  • TN Tech in Cookeville
  • University of Memphis
  • UT-Knoxville
  • UT-Martin
  • UT-Chattanooga
  • TN State U in Nashville
  • Vanderbilt in Nashville

• The University of Memphis continuously has one of the lowest overall incident rates per 1,000 campus population among the ten schools listed above (see https://crimeinsight.tbi.tn.gov).  In 2021, the incident rate was 6.9 per 1,000 campus population, the lowest among these schools.
  
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• The most commonly reported crime on campus is simple theft.  Examples are unattended laptops, cell phones, portable electronic devices, book bags, and textbooks.