7 2024 ANNUAL SECURITY & ANNUAL FIRE SAFETY REPORT Campus Safety & Security Campus safety and security at Lehigh is a shared responsibility. A Division of Campus Safety was created in 2021, drawing together the Lehigh teams focused on community safety and security; crisis and emergency response; campus law enforcement; crime prevention; and compliance with safety and security regulations. The best protection against campus crime is an aware, informed, and alert campus comprised of students, faculty, and staff who use reason, judgment and caution, in partnership with a dedicated law enforcement department. The vast majority of our students, faculty, staff and visitors do not experience crime at Lehigh University. However, despite our best efforts, crimes may occur. This information is provided because of our commitment to campus safety and security, and in compliance with the federal law, the Clery Act, the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting Act and the amendments to the Violence Against Women Act. It is meant to be useful to you. If you have concerns, questions, or comments about federal or state law requirements or Lehigh’s compliance with these laws, please contact the Division of Campus Safety at 610-758-4202. Lehigh University Police Department The mission of the Lehigh University Police Department is to aid in the success of our students and our entire campus community by providing a safe environment within which to live and learn. The success of our mission rests on a partnership between the Lehigh University Police Department and the Lehigh community. The Lehigh University Police Department employs a community policing philosophy and offers a wide variety of public safety programming and educational opportunities. We utilize state-of-the-art technology and have highly trained personnel to assist our community in every way we can. We operate a dispatch and communications center 24 hours per day, 365 days per year who are ready and trained to assist our community. They can receive calls for service from mobile phones, landline phones, emergency phones located around campus and in elevators, or through the HawkWatch mobile application. The HawkWatch app has various options to contact us, including direct phone calls, mobile blue light with GPS location services, text messaging, and email. Our department is physically located on campus at 321 E. Packer Avenue and operates a community substation with the Bethlehem Police at 324 S. New Street. Authority, Training and Jurisdiction All of Lehigh’s police officers are vested with all of the police powers, authority, and responsibilities of any police officer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Officers of the Lehigh University Police Department have full arrest powers and are armed. All criminal incidents that occur on University property are referred to the the Lehigh University Police Department, which has jurisdiction on campus and in the immediate vicinity surrounding University property. Statutory authority for the Lehigh University Police Department’s existence and the powers of arrest is derived from Pennsylvania law (Title 22 § 501 – Detectives and Private Police), which indicates that our officers, “shall severally possess and exercise all the powers of a police officer in the Commonwealth, in and upon, and in the immediate and adjacent vicinity of, the property of the corporation.” All officers employed by Lehigh University are duly appointed by the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas and have sworn an oath required by Article VI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania. Lehigh officers work in close cooperation with the Bethlehem Police Department and often assist with off-campus investigations. The Bethlehem Police Department has police jurisdiction in the areas around campus property within the City of Bethlehem. The Lehigh University Police Department is the primary law enforcement authority at Lehigh University. The department has been accredited by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association since 2007 and received the highest honor of being named a Premier Agency in 2023. The department consists of twenty-six sworn police officers, four full-time security guards, fifteen part-time security guards, six full-time dispatchers, our Administrative Director and our Business Manager. The department rank structure includes a chief and assistant chief, a captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, and sixteen officers. One of our officers is partnered with a Bethlehem police officer to work with the community members of South Bethlehem and address quality of life issues that concern both permanent residents and students. The Lehigh University Police Department reports all crimes within our jurisdiction to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR), which records detailed information about crimes, arrests, and victimization across Pennsylvania. Reports are also shared, if requested, with local police departments.
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