Public Safety - RMU Police Department

Message from the Chief

We are committed to keeping the peace on our campus and ensuring that our students, staff, and guests are safe and secure. We work to accomplish this mission by combining roving patrols, the use of technology, and engagement with our students and staff. Community policing and being part of our campus community are at the heart of what we do every day.   

We encourage you to partner with us in this endeavor by reporting any criminal behavior or suspicious activity that you might see while you’re on campus.

If you should ever require a police response, or have any questions or issues that we might be able to help with, please feel free to call 412 397-2424 to speak to a member of our team. Someone will answer the phone 24 hours a day. Just another way that Robert Morris University is big enough to matter, yet small enough to care. 

Thank you, 

Chief Jeff James

Location

Robert Morris University - Barry Center
134 Campus Drive Moon Township, PA 15108
Campus Map (Building #45)

Mission Statement

The Robert Morris University Police Department is committed to serving and protecting our population through community policing with professionalism and respect. We will perform our duties with integrity, dedication, and sensitivity to the university's educational mission.

Contact Information

The telephone number for emergency calls on campus using the University’s phone system is 2424 or 412-397-2424 from any other telephone. The telephone number may be used for all emergency and routine business calls. The department fax number is 412-397-2499.

Police Department and Parking

The RMU Police Department, located in the Barry Center, is a full-service law enforcement agency. It is staffed with sworn police officers certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Under the direction of the Chief of Police, all RMU officers have full arrest powers and receive training just as other local law enforcement officers would.

The objective of the department is to ensure and maintain a safe campus environment while providing you with as much assistance as possible. The department is comprised solely of a patrol division with access to marked police vehicles, and golf carts patrolling the campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All police officers are responsible for crime prevention, traffic and parking enforcement, and community policing on all of the RMU campuses.

Our Police Department is charged with creating a safe and secure environment. This task, however, is not one we can accomplish alone. Our efforts to maintain a safe and secure environment rely on our ability to develop collaborative relationships with the many communities that make up the university. We hope you will find your stay at Robert Morris to be both pleasant and safe.

The department serves all properties of the Moon Township campus, as well as the Island Sports Center. All officers are highly trained and dedicated to providing first-class service to the community.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Robert Morris University Police Department is to promote an atmosphere which is free from fear for personal safety, property loss, or accident and thereby enhances the overall operation and academic excellence of Robert Morris University.  Through continuous protection, service and education, the Police Department contributes to the maintenance of a free, orderly and safe campus environment.  To accomplish the established mission, it is essential that the Police Department strive for excellence in operations and community service which will result in the confidence, respect, support and cooperation of the University community.

Law Enforcement Authority

The Police Department is assigned to the Chief of Police, under the Vice President of General Counsel. The department employs a Director/Chief of Police, two Sergeants, two Detectives, ten Police Officers and two Public Safety Officers.

The Police Department is recognized by the State of Pennsylvania as a Criminal Justice Agency.

The Police Department is made up of armed, sworn commissioned police officers and armed, non-sworn public safety officers. The armed sworn police officers derive their law enforcement authority from the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Article 6, and from Statute, 22 Pa. C.S. § 50, Section 501 of the Act of November 15, 1972, P.L. 1063 No. 271 (also known as Act 501). Act 501 gives university police officers “...all the powers of a police officer in the Commonwealth, in and upon, and in the immediate and adjacent vicinity of, the property of the corporation.” All police officers are required to complete a basic police academy training course approved and authorized by the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission, known as Act 120. Officers are required to attend mandatory in service training throughout the year to enable them to perform more efficiently and more safely.

University police officers and public safety officers are trained in CPR, First Aid/First Responder and the use of AEDs (automatic external defibrillators). The non-sworn public safety officers receive orientation training in the areas such as building security, key control, procedures related to arrest by police officers, and patrol procedures. Public safety officers also receive specialty training regarding medical emergencies and assist police officers in these areas.