Security and Safety

Campus Security Report 2010

• Crime Statistics Report

Campus Security

The Norwich University Security and Safety Department provides a 24-hour physical security presence 365 days a year. The Security Office is located in the southwest end of the Hayden Building. (Visit our campus map for the Hayden Building’s location.) Phone security personnel from off-campus at 802-485-2525/2499. On-campus, phone ext. 2525 or 2499.

Norwich University security has only those enforcement powers as designated by the president of Norwich University. Security officers do not have law enforcement powers or arrest authority. An excellent working relationship exists with state and local law enforcement agencies. No Memorandum of Understanding exists between Norwich University and the Northfield Police Department. Reports of crime will be investigated by the Security Department and/or local law enforcement agencies. Information about Violations of Law/Safety Concerns are found in Chapter 3, Section XXIII of the Student Rules and Regulations.Academic buildings are patrolled and locked, per schedule, by security personnel. Residence halls are patrolled periodically and upon request by the on-duty security officer. In addition, residence halls are patrolled by the on duty Commandant’s Duty Officer. Residence Halls are locked nightly by Norwich University Student Affairs staff.

Crime Reporting

Students are encouraged to report all violations and criminal activities to the Security Department and/or officials within the Office of Student Affairs. During orientation, students are instructed on the procedures for contacting the Security Department. The Security Department will investigate all complaints and act on them in an appropriate manner.

• Annual Report: A comprehensive annual report of crime related statistics is published. This report is available to any member of the campus community. The detailed annual crime statistics report, forwarded to the Department of Education, is available at ope.ed.gov/security. Click here for the current Norwich University Crime Statistics Report. This report is updated annually and contains the Norwich University crime statistics for the past three years. This report represents crime and good faith reports of crime, reported to Norwich University officials, alleged to have occurred on campus, non-campus and public property. The annual crime statistics report is compiled by the chief of security. The chief of security receives crime statistics data via Security Crime/Incident reports, Student Affairs, the Equal Opportunity Coordinator, and the Northfield Police Department.

  Location Definitions:

  On Campus

  • The building is owned or controlled by Norwich University and is located within the confines of the main campus.
  • The building is owned by Norwich University, but is controlled by a student organization and located within the confines of the main campus.

  Non-campus

  A building owned or controlled by Norwich University and located off campus.

  Public Property

  Those areas, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that are within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.

• Timely Warnings/Crime Alerts: Timely Warnings are issued whenever there is an ongoing threat of crime to the Norwich University Community. If circumstances warrant, Timely Warnings/Crime Alerts are prepared and distributed throughout the campus via electronic notices, campus-wide emails, and posted notices at residence halls and campus buildings. Timely Warnings are initiated by Security and/or Student Affairs with the assistance of the Office of Communications.
• Residence Hall Safety: Crime and fire prevention presentations are made available to resident coordinators/advisors and cadet leadership. Facilities Surveys: Comprehensive surveys of exterior lighting, exterior doors and grounds are conducted by the Facilities Operations Department throughout the year.

Security Awareness Programs

Programs designed to inform students about campus security and safety are initially covered at student orientation. This subject is also included in the student handbooks. The Security Department provides support services to the University community. These services include:

• Registering student, faculty and staff motor vehicles.
• Assisting campus motorists with minor vehicle problems
• Maintaining a lost and found department.
• Offering after-hours assistance with room lockouts.
• Escorting people to cars or from building to building upon request
• Ensuring that all Security Officers are CPR certified
• Distributing web-based notifications for changing parking schemes due to weather, construction etc.
• Distributing web-based security/safety notifications to the University Community.

Programs/services provided through the vice president Student Affairs/commandant of cadets

• Norwich University Alcohol Safety Program Chapter 3, Section II. of the Student Rules and Regulations
• April 24-25, 2010 Emergency Preparedness training to commandant’s duty officers provided by Mr. John Buck, dean of students at Webster University.
• Aug. 23-25, 2010: Conducted training for the cadet freshman on Norwich’s policies of non-discrimination and sexual assault/sexual misconduct.
• Aug. 28, 2010: Conducted training for the civilian freshman on Norwich’s policies of non-discrimination and sexual assault/sexual misconduct.
• September 2010 - December 2010: Conducted training for all Norwich employees on Norwich’s policies of non-discrimination and sexual assault/sexual misconduct.
• November 2010 - December 2010: Every six weeks conduct training for all new Norwich employees on Norwich’s policies of non-discrimination and sexual assault/sexual misconduct

To Students (by lifestyle)

• March 9, 2010 Corps of Cadets commanders’ briefs to their subordinates on Spring Break safety (underage drinking; drinking and driving).
• Sexual assault awareness training provided to students by the Equal Opportunity and Employee Relations Coordinator and Executive Director, Washington County Sexual Assault Crisis Team in conjunction with Junior Ring Weekend.
• Sexual assault awareness training provided to athletes by the Equal Opportunity and Employee Relations Coordinator and a professional campus counselor in the fall, winter, and spring.
• Sexual assault awareness training provided to Resident Coordinators/Advisors and Freshmen students by the Equal Opportunity and Employee Relations Coordinator.
• Recurring substance abuse education provided by substance abuse counselor around those same “high risk” times.
• Safe Rides is a program to get students back on campus who are experiencing problems in the community. There is no charge to students for this service. Students check at the info desk in the Wise Campus Center to see if this service is available.

Weapons Possession

The unauthorized possession, use or sale of firearms, ammunition, fireworks, major or minor explosives or any lethal weapon is forbidden and subject to University discipline as well as criminal sanctions. Any instrument that propels a projectile such air soft, BB, paintball guns, slingshots etc., are considered weapons. Weapons Policy is located in Chapter 3, Section XX of the Student Rules and Regulations.

Sexual Assault

Norwich University and the Washington County Sexual Assault Crisis Team have partnered to create a Sexual Assault Response Task Force. Members of the team include, but are not limited to:

• vice president of student affairs
• dean of students
• equal opportunity and employee relations coordinator
• chief of security
• executive director, Washington County Sexual Assault Crisis Team

The missions of this task force—educate, prevent and respond to sexual violence affecting the Norwich Community. Read our Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct Policy.

Sexual Offender Registry

The Sexual Offender Registry is available on the Vermont Criminal Information Center site. Follow the provided instructions to view the sex offender registry.

For Additional Information

For additional information about campus security, phone the chief of security at 802-485-2498.

Campus Fire Safety Report 2010

• Fire Safety Matrix

Norwich University has 10 dedicated residence halls and two separate buildings used for overflow housing. All of these buildings are listed in this report with included information on the fire safety systems.

Flint Hall and 429 Central St. (Coaches House) are the two overflow student housing units. Both Flint Hall and the Coaches House have wired fire, smoke, and carbon monoxide detection. These detectors are located on all floors, in the hallways, and in the bedrooms. When the fire detection system is activated, klaxons and strobe lights activate. The alarms for these two buildings do not transmit to the Norwich University Security office and the duty Security officer(s). There are no plans for installing sprinkler systems into Flint Hall or 429 Central Street.

The 10 full-time residence halls are hard wired for fire, smoke, and carbon monoxide detection. In addition, all 10 residence halls have full sprinkler systems. Sprinkler heads are located on all floors, in all hallways, and in all rooms. When an alarm is activated, klaxons sound and strobe lights are activated. The alarm panel activates at the Norwich University Security office and the alarm is transmitted to the on duty Security officer through a radio relay system. The on-duty Security officer investigates the alarm and will not “clear” the alarm from the system until positive no fire exists.

If a fire is present, the security officer will call “911” for fire department response. Northfield Fire Department is Norwich University’s first responder for fires. The fire department is a volunteer fire department

All Norwich University residence halls meet the current fire safety codes as required by the State of Vermont.

Norwich University conducts a minimum of one regular mandatory supervised fire drill per year. These drills are conducted at the start of the academic year. Fire drills have been conducted at the start of the spring semester (January), but are dependent on weather conditions.

Policies/rules on portable electrical appliances, smoking, and open flames (such as candles), are in Chapter 3, Section VIII (Fire Safety Standards) of the Student Rules and Regulations.

Norwich University security provides fire evacuation training to the resident coordinators and advisors annually. This training is also provided to the Corps of Cadets Leadership when requested.

The Fire Safety Matrix lists the residence halls, their fire systems, fires and fire drills. Since 2007, there has been only one fire in a residence hall. This was an intentional burning of clothes on the first floor of Wilson Hall. The sprinkler system actuated as designed and extinguished the fire. There were no injuries or deaths related to this fire.

Emergency Communication/Response and Evacuation

1. Emergency Siren - An emergency siren is located on the roof of Chaplin Hall. When activated, the siren will emit a wailing sound followed by a prerecorded verbal statement for one of the following: active shooter, hazardous materials spill, ammonia leak, and terrorist threat. The siren also has a public announcement capability.
2. Web-Based Notification System - All faculty, staff, and students are strongly encouraged to register their contact information in order to be notified through the system. Once registered into the system, messages can be transmitted via email, telephone, and SMS (text messaging). Parents and family members of Norwich students are encouraged to visit the Emergency Notification System for instructions on how their student can add them as contacts.
3. Broadcast Message - Broadcast messaging through the Norwich University voicemail system to all employee campus extensions.
4. Alert Phones/Blue Lights - When activated (push button), contacts the security officer on duty.

   Alert Phone Locations

   • Parking Lot C base of stairs to Regional Training Center.
   • Between Parking Lots C & D.
   • Northwest end of Parking Lot D.
   • Top of Parking Lot B by (drive-in) entrance.
   • East side of Parking Lot B, top of stairs to South Hall.
   • North side of South Hall.
   • West side of South Hall.
   • East side of South Hall.
   • East side of Patterson Hall.
   • North side of Jackman Hall.
   • Northeast side of Webb Lot.

   Alert Phone (Emergency Call Box) locations are shown on our Campus Amenities Map.

5. Notification Process - The duty security officer is authorized to start the emergency notification procedures in case of emergency or dangerous situations involving an immediate threat or safety to the Norwich University community. When time permits, the Norwich University Incident Command Team will convene and determine a course of action and communicate to the Norwich University community. The titles of the staff responsible for carrying out this process are: chief administrative officer, communications coordinator, media relations manager, director of web communications, chief of security, director facilities operations, and the vice president for Student Affairs/commandant.
6. Testing - Norwich University tests the emergency siren twice a year. The system is tested once during the summer months to ensure the equipment is operable. The second test is performed at the start of the academic year. The emergency siren sounds and the “test” is announced. A web-based test message to the Norwich community is conducted once per year. The test is usually conducted in conjunction with the test of the siren. To date, these “announced” tests have tested the equipment and familiarized the campus community with the emergency notification media. Norwich University has not implemented a campus-wide drill in conjunction with the tests.
7. Evacuation - In case of a scheduled evacuation from campus, Norwich University requires all students to have two evacuation addresses, a primary and alternate. In case of building fire or other emergency, the Wise Campus Center is designated as the primary rally site. The alternate site is the White Chapel.