According to a recent study by CollegeMagazine.com, Oakland University is again ranked third-safest college campus in the country, continuing its reputation of being one of the top three colleges for safety since 2017.

The ranking is based on the number of students to violent crime ratio, reported o

n-campus violent crimes and total disciplinary incidents, on-campus housing availability, campus safety resources and community’s annual violent crime rate. 

The study points out that OU had only four annual violent crimes reported by students, 209 total incidents defined as actions that need disciplinary action taken by the school and 12 violent crime incidents in the city of Rochester in 2020.

To maintain the safe environment for students, faculty and staff at OU, the roles of the OU Police Department (OUPD) are crucial. OUPD is the lead law enforcement department with respect to campus safety and security, its jurisdiction covers all of OU’s main campus.

Mark Gordon, chief of Police, and his staff of 22 sworn, state-certified police officers perform a plethora of jobs including responding to calls in the community, 24/7 patrolling, administering and maintaining the OU safety initiatives – CCTV cameras, alarms and Emergency Blue Light phones – as well as complying with the Federal Clery mandate.

The Emergency Blue Light phones are strategically placed across campus to further assist the campus community in reporting emergencies as soon as possible. They serve as an additional means of communication with the OUPD, support a safer campus environment and communicate to potential offenders that their presence or action is not welcome.

“The efforts of the OUPD are having a positive impact on campus safety,” Gordon said. “Whether it’s proactive patrol approaches or responding to calls or providing community education, each member of the police department contributes to overall safety and it is rewarding to see positive results.”

As the study additionally highlights, the OUPD also has the First Aid Support Team (FAST) to respond to on-campus health crises and provides various training and educational presentations on campus to prevent further campus violence. These training and presentations include the following topics:

•   Personal safety awareness
•   Sexual assault prevention
•   Rape aggression defense
•   Crime prevention
•   Surviving an active shooting incident
•   Domestic violence & stalking bystander intervention
•   Drug and alcohol awareness

“I do feel that the OU campus is safe,” Ashlyn Foreman, a sophomore at OU, said. “I think that the blue light phones provide a peace of mind and that knowing we have a police department so close reminds us that if we ever need anything, they are never too far away.”

While maintaining a safe and secure college campus environment for its students, faculty and staff members is challenging, OU continues to provide its students with a variety of resources. And the OUPD is committed to providing the best support and guidance toward safety possible.

“The police department alone cannot keep a community safe,” Gordon said. “It takes an entire community and their involvement to create a safe environment. We are very fortunate that our community is very involved.”

For more information about what the OUPD has to offer, visit its official website or contact at 248-370-3331.