With the Police Department on campus, response to different emergencies across campus can happen quickly. Located in Downs Hall, is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

As the students know, the Police Department is here to protect the community, to keep the good in and the bad out. With the department providing an abundance of services, such as the K-9 unit and a criminal investigations bureau, there is no way that the Kean University community has not been given the safest environment possible.

Located on the outskirts of campus, individuals can find 13 blue light telephones available for both non-emergencies and emergencies use. If a student uses one of the designated telephones to call in the presence of an emergency, press the large red button. For those who need to call in a non-emergency, the keypad should be used to call any campus telephone numbers. To call the Police Department via a blue light telephone, dial extension 74800, or dial 908-737-4800 on a cellphone. To save time in case there is an emergency on campus and the incident is not near a blue light  telephone, it is recommended that all students, faculty and staff have the Kean University police’s number in one’s phone.

One of the numerous services that the Police Department provides  is CampusAlert, which is a system that alerts all individuals associated with the university to be up to date on all emergency situations. This system helps keep everyone advised about any campus closure due to inclement weather, utility shutdowns and any incident reports. The CampusAlert can advise the community of Kean University via text message, call, and email. If one has not signed up for the CampusAlert system, one must do so as soon as possible. To do so, follow these steps:

• Click here
• Create an account
• When asked for an email use the given Kean University email
• A temporary password will be sent
• Once a temporary password is collected, follow the remaining steps provided on the registration page, to fully register for the CampusAlert

The Police Department also deals with lost and found, safety escort program, fire safety, and amongst other things.  To get to know more about the Kean University Police Department please visit their page.

All police officers, as said by the director of the Police Department Adam Shubsda, “receive emergency first responder training while in the academy,” and each officer “must update their Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certifications annually.”

Not only are all officers certified in CPR and AED, but five Kean University officers are trained by the state of New Jersey on basic Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B’s). Shubsda continues to explain that police officers receive training in self-defense, evasive driving operation, as long as in many other areas.

Although it is not common for police officers at the university to use the EMT training on  campus on a day-to-day basis, having this area of training is important.

On December 11,  2014 there was an incident where three patrol officers (Ptl.) and a Sargent (Sgt.) that had to quickly respond to an incident where the knowledge of EMT was in need. Sgt. Joseph Simko, who has been a member of the Kean University Police Department for 13 years, reminisces that day, saying how his thoughts were not of any remembrance since everything “was all just very much reactionary.” The three officers that helped Sgt. Simko were Ptl. Lewis King, who has been a part of the university’s Police Department for 10 years, Ptl Phillip White, a member of the department for 11 years, and Ptl. Alejandro Perez, who has been an officer  at Kean University for 20 years.

Sgt. Simko advises students that are in situations that require medical attention to call 911 or use the nearest blue light telephone to call the police. “The faster we are advised of a situation,” Sgt. Simko continues to explain, “the faster we and other trained medical professionals can respond.” 

Click here to read more about the K-9 unit.