Police Patrol Services

Each patrol shift consists of a minimum of two police officers, a communications dispatcher and a patrol supervisor.

The patrol unit is responsible for proactively solving problems within the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year as well as responsible for responding to a wide array of calls for service, including medical emergencies, law enforcement, community policing, crime prevention and criminal investigations.

Officers patrol on foot, in police cruisers, in unmarked police vehicles and on mountain bikes. Foot patrols are mainly concentrated in the academic buildings and Residence Halls. As part of their normal duties, officers assist motorists by providing jump starts and lock out services.

All officers are certified "first responders" with training in CPR and in utilizing the department's AEDs (automated external defibrillators).

University Police Officers are sworn under Chapter 22C, Section 63 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. UMass officers have full Chapter 90 (Motor Vehicle Law) powers and strictly enforce these laws on campus. Our police officers are vested with full law enforcement powers and receive the same initial training as municipal law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Officers are also assigned frequently to attend in-depth training in a wide variety of specialized topics such as crime prevention theory, the investigations of sexual assaults and bias related incidents. In addition to specialized training, our officers receive annual in-service training covering areas such as firearms training, first-responder training and legal updates.