Campus Safety

Blue Light Emergency Telephones

The Blue Light Emergency Telephones located throughout the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses connects callers directly to the USFPD and automatically indicate the location of the caller. A student can activate a phone at any one of the Blue Light locations on campus and report their emergency to the USFPD Communications Center.

Emergency Management

The Department of Emergency Management (EM) coordinates activities to protect, prevent, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies affecting USF. Emergency Management provides a unified approach to all public safety and emergency resources, provides effective and timely communications between all safety units, and serves as USF’s single point of contact and management for emergency and crisis situations. Learn more at usf.edu/em.

Hurricanes

Hurricane season is recognized in the southeast from June 1 through November 30. We highly encourage families and students to design a plan so that they are prepared should a storm impact Florida, the Tampa Bay area, or the community your student calls home. Please visit usf.edu/em for the campus hurricane guide and other university safety initiatives.

SAFE Team

SAFE Team is an on-campus safety escort program on the Tampa campus supported and operated by Student Government. Students can call 813-974-SAFE to have an escort accompany them by foot or golf cart to their destination (from 6:30 p.m. until 2 a.m.). Students may encounter a short wait until the phone dispatcher is available and may encounter wait times for their escort depending on the call volume.

SAFE Team also offers students safe rides home through UBER, which can be utilized while supplies last. For more information about SAFE Team and their offerings, visit usf.edu/student-affairs/ student-government/tampa-sg/tampasafeteam.

University Police (USFPD)

USFPD is dedicated to providing a safe environment for and in partnership with the community. USF’s highly trained police officers are very sensitive to the needs of our students and strive to establish relationships based on trust and mutual problem solving. They also offer a number of educational programs, including self-defense, bicycle registration, crime alerts, and theft prevention to empower the USF community in personal safety, home, and property security plans.