Serving as the eyes and ears of a campus community is what the MSU Police does. But reporting suspicious activity to keep MSU’s campus safe and comfortable for everyone is what you can do. The MSU Police encourages anyone on campus to report any suspicious activity or crimes they notice through their See Something, Say Something program.
The program started by the MSU Police three years ago is part of a national campaign by the same name. The national See Something, Say Something campaign is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and “emphasizes the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper state and local law enforcement authorities,” according to the campaign’s website.
Originally started as a method of reporting criminal activity at MSU sports games, the program has since grown to encompass any criminal activity on MSU’s campus.
“It’s an anonymous text messaging crime reporting system. It’s kind of a spin-off of Crime Stoppers; you can actually report a non-emergency crime,” said Steven Beard, an officer assigned to the emergency management and special events division of the MSU Police.
“You send a text message to 274637 and you type in MSUPD in the body of the message, then you type your message and the text message goes to an officer. The officer can respond to the text saying, I need more information,” said Beard. “You can have anonymous text messaging with an officer. 274637 is a national number used by everyone that has the program and each one (police organization) has a unique identifier. So you need to use our identifier: MSUPD.”
Reporting any criminal activity is important, whether it’s a stolen bicycle, a suspicious person wandering in and out of dormitories, and even workplace violence.
According the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site.
In addition to using the See Something, Say Something anonymous program, Beard also states that the MSU Police still encourage people to call 9-1-1 for emergencies. But if a person is not comfortable coming into the police station or talking to officers, See Something, Say Something is another way for people to do it.
If you see crimes on campus you have the opportunity to be of assistance by anonymously reporting crime to the MSU Police. Also, learn how to recognize the signs of workplace violence with the Human Resource Development class, “Recognizing and Preventing Violence in the Workplace,” offered throughout the summer.