With hundreds of faculty, students, staff and visitors traveling on campus each day, safety is a priority for Saint Mary’ university.
Saint Mary’s has a suite of measures in place to ensure campus is a safe place to learn and work, including a team of trained and vetted security officers and special services available to the SMU community.
Kevin Trudeau, University Security Manager at Saint Mary’s, oversees a team of five permanent security staff and 12 contract employees of Paladin, a national, reputable security service provider.
“People might not know that all our contracted security staff are vetted and licensed by the NS Department of Justice and all have at least Basic First Aid training,” says Trudeau. “Our internal security staff have various security and campus-specific training as well as Advanced Medical First Responder training.”
The security team works behind the scenes and at all hours. Officers patrol campus inside and out on a 24/7 basis. After hours, all buildings are routinely checked for security. There is a dedicated member assigned to Parking Enforcement during the weekdays and another assigned to the Atrium overnight seven days per week during the school year. And, the Security Dispatch position is staffed 24/7 to respond to calls.
Having the security team in place is critical, but Trudeau encourages the SMU community to take advantage of the security services on campus and to adopt a security mindset.
“Security is best when everyone participates,” says Trudeau. “Being aware of the services available to you, having a sense of ownership and responsibility for shared spaces, and reporting things that seem wrong or unusual all help to make campus safe.”
Services for the SMU community
Faculty, students and staff can take advantage of the following services:
Safe Walk
Any student, faculty, staff or even bonafide visitors to campus can call Campus Security 24/7 to request a Security member to walk them to and from any location on campus if they feel unsafe or just prefer not to go alone.
Lone Worker / Studier
Any person or small group working or studying on campus during hours that are typically quiet (late nights or weekends) may contact security 24/7 to notify them of their location and ask that security members come by to periodically check on them.
SMU Safe app
Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to download this free app (available on Google Play and Apple stores) for quick access to SMU Security and information. Features include:
o Contact Security button, emergency numbers, a quick 911 call button and links to various campus resources such as Health, Counselling and Sexual Violence support.
o Virtual Walk Home: once activated Security staff can monitor the requestor’s progress in real time and can initiate an emergency support call (i.e. 911) in the event something goes wrong during the walk home, on or off campus.
o Friend Walk: Allows the requestor to connect with a friend to monitor the walk rather than Security.
o Emergency Notifications: Alerts users to various emergency conditions and expected actions (i.e. evacuation) on campus. Users must ensure they activate the permissions to allow the app notifications on their device.