According to AcademicInfluence.com’s recent campus safety rankings, Oakland University placed 7th nationally. It is the only school in Michigan listed in the top 15.
The rankings are based on compliance with the Clery Act, the number and activity of security officers on campus, the number of blue light emergency phone stations, escort services, surveillance systems and technology, shuttles for students, lighting maintenance, how low the crime statistics are and the quality and quantity of mental health offices and services.
Oakland University Police Department (OUPD) Chief of Police Mike Gordon said the ranking feels “rewarding.”
“My philosophy as the police chief is that campus safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Gordon said. “We’ve all heard the saying, ‘If you see something, say something and then do something,’ and that is very, very true, and we buy into that philosophy, from my office all the way down to my officers.
“We try to spread to the communities that are necessary for everybody to be engaged in campus safety,” Gordon added. “It takes an entire community to keep our community safe.”
Vice President and Academic Editor of AcademicInfluence.com James Barham cited the lower-than-average violent crime rate of 12.2 in Rochester, Michigan as one reason the university ranked in the top 10.
The campus crime rate is even lower.
“Oakland University experiences only .61 violent crimes per 10,000 people and 3.67 property crimes per 10,000 people, extremely low numbers compared to other universities,” Barham wrote.
Some of OU’s other key safety features and services include more than 210 blue light emergency phones, SAFEwalk escort, women’s self-defense classes, roaming officers, nearly 800 CCTV cameras and campus phones that reach OUPD when 911 is dialed.
OU has been regarded as one of the safest campuses in the United States for several years. Previously, the university was ranked 3rd nationally in safety in 2021 in a study conducted by CollegeMagazine.com.
Despite OU’s historically high performance in safety rankings, Gordon said there are plans in the making to create an even safer campus.
“One of the initiatives that we’re committed to is continuing to spread or further our access control equipment on this campus so that if we have to lock down the campus in an emergency, the exterior doors of the primary buildings will be equipped with that,” Gordon said. “That will help go a long way in securing campus should we have to lock it down.”
Additionally, Gordon added, the university spent over $600,000 to upgrade access control CCTV cameras in 2023.
“We just went through and we kind of updated all of our equipment, just showing that the university is very dedicated, very committed to safety,” Gordon said.
Ultimately, Gordon said, the community needs to be involved to keep the campus safe.
“Sometimes I hear people say, ‘I saw something that didn’t look quite right but I didn’t want to bother the police.’ I want our community to know they’re never bothering the police when they call,” he said. “So call us. Report suspicious behavior. If you have concerns about somebody else, call us about that.”
“We’re here to investigate. We’re here to keep us all safe. But it takes everyone to partner with us to be able to keep this community as safe as it is.”
More information about campus safety can be found in the 2022 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. OUPD can be reached at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns.
