University Police Services

The South Dakota State University Police Department is comprised of a Chief of Police, Lieutenant, Sergeant, ten police officers, four dispatchers, twelve student patrol officers, a secretary, various student office staff and a program assistant. The Department provides police and emergency services on a continual 24-hour basis throughout the year. The police department is located in the Sorenson Center at the corner of Harvey Dunn and Medary Avenue and is open at all times to the public. The Department maintains a weekly crime report on the department website, which is accessible to the public and provides the most recent reports of police activity.

The South Dakota State University Police Department is a full service police department whose emphasis is on "Community Policing" and partnerships within the university community. The jurisdiction of the Department is the campus of SDSU and on the streets that run through or are contiguous with SDSU properties. All university police officers are sworn officers with arrest powers and are trained in compliance with the Standards of the State of South Dakota.

Members of the department are truly dedicated to the concept of providing both a timely and effective service to the university community and its visitors. The Department utilizes police cars, bicycles, and foot patrols to ensure accessibility to the community on a 24-hour basis. Department staff routinely provides a myriad of public safety services such as providing first responder for medical assistance, personal safety escorts and money escorts, motorist’s assistance, security checks in the family housing areas, and assistance with campus directions and information. Police officers conduct traffic accident investigation, criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, law enforcement, security patrols of campus buildings and common areas, response to fire and security alarms, security at athletic and concert events, and crime prevention activities such as presentations to student organizations.

Communications Center

What is the Communications Center?

The communications center is the hub and heart of the University Police. Every emergency, whether security, fire, safety or health, originates from a call received via the emergency 111 phone line, one of the two administrative lines, one of the emergency call boxes or via the TDD (telephone device for the deaf). The communications center is operational 24 hours a day throughout the year and acts as a referral source for almost every campus issue from escorts, door unlocks, stuck elevators, maintenance problems, to directions, lost and found items to safety advice. Our phone systems also permit direct access to local resources such as surrounding police and fire agencies, paramedics and tow companies.

We also have a radio monitoring system, which allows us to monitor Brookings police dispatch calls within our service sector for the purpose of providing mutual aide. We also monitor our residential life and physical plant staff.

Dispatchers maintain constant radio contact with the officers in the field, student patrol officers through handheld radios.

What happens to my call?

For many people, their first and sometimes only contact with the police department is a telephone call answered by a dispatcher, which means that the department's entire reputation may well rest on the person in that job. Some have suggested that the telephone call for police service is the single most critical point in the entire criminal justice system. It is the dispatcher who typically has the first contact with the citizen, and the decisions that they make can dictate the entire department's response. The dispatcher's job is to listen to the information offered by the caller, ask appropriate questions to discover the true nature of the call, assess the information quickly, and then make a decision about how to field the call. The pressures on dispatchers are enormous. Within the pressure imposed by time, dispatchers must make critical decisions, direct the activities of several police units, receive and assimilate a variety of information, and then communicate effectively with police officers and citizens.

Let the dispatcher ask you questions. Please be patient during the process. Your answers help in determining the priority of an incident, thus responding the best and most appropriate assistance. If you are in danger from, or uncomfortable with, someone who is nearby, simply answer the questions with a "yes" or "no".

For information regarding the Emergancy Call boxes located throughout campus click here.

Student Patrol

Student Officers differ greatly from Certified University Police Officers.These officers number one are students at the university. Unlike the Police Officers they assist, they are unable to issue tickets for violations of SDCL or University Regulations, but if inappropriate behavior is encountered they confront it and notify an officer. These are the officers wearing brown and patrolling campus by foot or golf cart.

Student Officers assist the University Police Department in many ways; there general duties are listed below.

·        Patrol campus at various times through out the day to report any suspicious behavior to Officers on duty.

·        Issue Parking Tickets to vehicles found in violation of SDSU parking regulations. 

·        Lock and unlock buildings every day.

·        Provide escorts if available to do so.

·        Assist University Police Officers with event security, such as concerts, sports events, and any other campus event where security is requested.

If you are interested in becoming a student officer, please stop by our offices at the Sorenson Center and pick up an application. For further information regarding hours, salary, and other duties expected of Student Officers contact, Lt. Mike Kilber.