Safety and Security

The Department of Police Services can be reached by dialing x2111 from a campus phone or, in case of emergency, 911 from a campus phone or landline. If you are using a cell phone, you must dial (818) 677-2111. 

Community Policing Team

The Department of Police Services (DPS) has partnered with Student Housing to provide a dedicated policing team assigned to the residence complex. The mission of the team is to provide police services that include crime prevention, problem solving and partnerships with the community. The university police also patrol residence halls and grounds. When dialing 911, police dispatchers connect residents’ landlines directly to the university police. We encourage residents to learn more about our Community Policing Team.

The phone number for the DPS is (818) 677-2111. It is recommended that all residents program the number into their cellphones for faster response in emergency situations.

Police Substation Located in the University Park

The substation serves as the base of operations for the Community Policing Team and enables students to take care of basic police services, such as filing a police report or obtaining crime prevention information, in lieu of visiting the primary police facility at the corner of Darby Avenue and Prairie Street. The police substation is Parking Lot G7, south of Apartment 14 in University Park, and is generally staffed at periodic hours during the teams’ shift, Wednesday through Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Resident Advisors (RAs) serve on call duty each night. RAs will be on duty from 7 p.m.-8 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m., Friday until 8 a.m. Monday and University recognized Holidays. 

While on duty, the RAs will walk the communities, visit with residents, look for security and maintenance concerns, and address policy violations. Outside of the on-call duty, RAs will be available in and around the buildings. 

A Community Director (CD) is also on duty each night to assist with both personal and facility emergencies, as well as with disciplinary situations. The CD on duty will be contacted by the RA as needed. The CDs are professional live-in staff members. These staff members are full-time professionals who are trained to handle counseling, disciplinary, and crisis situations. A CD is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holiday periods. 

RA Duty Phone Numbers (After hours lockouts and emergencies) 

Team A: Buildings 1, 2, 3, 6: (818) 497-8273 
Team B: Buildings 4, 5, and 16: (818) 402-9914 
Team C: Buildings 7, 8, and 17: (818) 497-8257 
Team D: Buildings 9, 10, 11, and 13: (818) 400-1248 
Team E: Buildings 12, 14, 15: (818) 402-9941 
Team F: Buildings 19, 20, and 21: (818) 307-7239 
Team G: Buildings 22, 23, and The Village Apartments: (818) 522-5231 

You do not have to walk alone! 

The Matador Patrol is a student-operated public service organization under the guidance of the Department of Police Services. Matador Patrol members provide free personal safety escorts for students, faculty, staff, and visitors on campus from dusk to 11 p.m. 

Matador Patrol members wear easily recognizable uniforms that are red, white, and black in color-do not be alarmed if you find a Matador Patrol member asking you if you would like to be escorted to your next destination. Matador Patrol members are community service assistants who are proactive, energetic and have the best of intentions of ensuring CSUN maintains our reputation as a safe academic community. 

You can request a Matador Patrol escort at Matador Patrol. 

Our Community Service Officers (CSOs) serve an important role in the overall safety of our community of learners.  The Community Service Officers are assigned to Student Housing by the Department of Police Services.  CSO keep us safe by assuring that after gate closure only residents and appropriately registered guests are permitted into the Park Apartments and Suites residential complexes.  The CSO team accomplishes this by verifying resident status at the entry points after gate closure.  CSOs will also assure the safety of our community by taking periodic patrols to assure we are safe and no inappropriate activities are occurring.  We encourage you to get to know the CSOs, they are an important part of our Matador community.  

LOCK your doors and windows when leaving your unit (even if you are only gone for a few minutes), when taking naps, and when retiring for the night. If you prop your door open, make sure someone is in the unit, and close it when they aren’t. Often, residents forget to close the door, leaving the unit open to anyone. 

LOOK out of your peephole installed in your door whenever someone knocks. Do not open the door to people you do not know. Student housing & Residential Life staff will always announce themselves. 

MAKE a list of your personal belongings, including the identification and serial numbers of your items. Keep this information in a safe place. 

KEEP all money and valuables in a safe place. Do not keep large amounts of cash in your room. Consider leaving valuable items at home or in a safe deposit box. 

CLOSE all public area doors behind you. 

NEVER PROP OPEN lobby or stairwell doors. Alarmed exits are located in each building and should only be used for emergencies. 

DO NOT LET people you do not know into the building or your unit. By opening the door for someone, you are accepting responsibility for them as your guest. Ask visitors who they are looking for and, if necessary, refer them to the Student Housing Office or the Community Center. 

DO NOT LOAN your MataCard access to anyone. Not only is it a violation of Student Housing Rules and Regulations, but it also puts your roommates and members of our community in jeopardy. 

REPORT suspicious people or circumstances to the RAs, the Student Housing Office, or the Department of Police Services. This includes vendors and unescorted non-residents inside the building. Student Housing does not allow the solicitation of residents in our buildings. If someone tries to sell you something in the building, report it to the RA or Student Housing Office. 

WALK WITH ANOTHER PERSON at night. Matadors Patrol offers a walking escort Monday-Thursday from dusk to 11 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. A police officer is available after 11 p.m. and all other times when the Matador Patrol is not on duty. You can request a safety escort by calling 818-677-5042 or 5048 from a campus phone extension.

Entrances to all residential buildings, including lobbies, hallways, apartments, pool areas and computer labs are locked and can only be opened with electronic key cards issued to residents. Intercom systems are used to identify and admit guests. A resident host must accompany guests at all times while in the complex.

The perimeter gates are locked between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. daily. Guest registration Community Service Officers staff the entrances to confirm the residency of people entering the complex and to assist residents in registering their guests.

For more information about police services, visit the Department of Police Services. To learn about Department of Police Services staff, visit Meet the Command Staff.

If you have a bicycle on campus, find out more about the Matador Bicycle Compound and how to register your bicycle with police services.

When the fire alarm sounds, stay calm. Before exiting the unit, feel the door for heat and look at the door seals for signs of smoke. If the door is hot or you see smoke, stay in your unit, put a wet towel at the base of the door, and call for help. If it’s safe to exit the unit, put on your shoes, grab your keys, and evacuate the building immediately. If it’s safe to do so, bring a wet towel to cover your nose, mouth, face, and head if necessary. 

If you encounter smoke, stay low. 

If you are overcome by flames: Stop, Drop, Roll, and cover your face. 

Move to the designated evacuation point outside the building and wait for instructions from a staff member. Whenever the fire alarm sounds, you must leave your room if it’s safe to do so. For example, if there is no fire or smoke immediately outside your door. 

Each year, the Office of Student Housing and Conference Services publishes fire-related statistics in its annual Clery Fire Safety Report.

If an earthquake happens, stay calm and take protective actions:

• Duck or drop down on the floor.
• Take cover under a sturdy desk, table, or other furniture, or move against an interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms.
• If you take cover under sturdy furniture, hold on to it and be prepared to move with it.
• Hold your position until the ground stops shaking, and it’s safe to move. If it’s safe to exit the unit, put on your shoes, grab your device with MataCard, and evacuate the building.
• If it’s safe to do so, bring essential items such as critical prescription medicine. If you have an earthquake emergency kit, bring it with you.
• Move to the designated evacuation point, taking care to stay clear of downed trees, debris, and electrical lines (evacuation maps are located on the back of the unit doors). 

If you cannot exit the building, tie a light-colored shirt to a balcony railing and suspend it so that it can be seen by others. 

If there is an emergency requiring you to shelter in place — generally, staying where you are and taking precautions such as locking doors, closing and locking windows, turning off air systems, etc. — the university will make every effort to inform you of the need to do so. However, you are also responsible for your own safety and for gathering as much information as you can.

CSUN takes student safety seriously. If you believe that a student who resides in on-campus housing has been missing, immediately notify the CSUN Department of Police Services at (818) 677-2111. CSUN Police will initiate an investigation in accordance with the department’s missing person policy and will undertake the emergency contact procedures as appropriate. 

Missing student reports should be made directly to the Department of Police Services. However, these reports may also be made to the Residential Life Office in the Student Housing office, or to the Associate Vice President/Dean of Students Office in Valeria Hall 310. If the missing person report is made to staff or organizations other than CSUN Police Services, that entity will contact Police Services immediately. 

Contact Procedures 

At the beginning of each academic year, CSUN will inform students residing in on-campus housing that CSUN will notify a parent, guardian, or an individual selected by the student not later than 24 hours after the time the student is determined to be missing. This information will remain confidential and will be used only during a missing-persons investigation by campus officials and law enforcement. Students have the option of identifying an individual to be contacted by CSUN. If the student is under 18 years of age and not an emancipated individual, CSUN is required to notify a custodial parent or guardian not later than 24 hours after the time that the student is determined to be missing, in addition to any additional contact person designated by the student. When CSUN Police makes a determination that a student who is the subject of a missing person report has been missing for more than 24 hours and has not returned to campus, University Police Services will initiate the emergency contact procedures in accordance with the student’s designation and will also notify local law enforcement. 

Police Services Action 

The Department of Police Services has a law-enforcement missing-persons policy that is followed in all such cases. The department may release a photo of the missing student to assist in locating the individual and may seek information and/or assistance from a variety of campus resources during the course of the investigation. 

Emergency blue light call boxes are located throughout the grounds. They are easy to spot and instantly link callers to CSUN police dispatchers. There are more than 90 emergency blue light phones located throughout the entire CSUN campus.

Update contact information: Ensure your emergency contact information is up to date in the CSUN Portal. This information is used by the university's mass communication system to notify you of a critical or emergency situation, instructions, and updates. 

Follow instructions: In an emergency, closely follow instructions communicated to you via phone and email – and listen to staff and emergency personnel. 

Participate in drills: Take drills seriously and encourage others around you to do the same. 

Review emergency maps: Know the location and content of building evacuation maps, including the designated outside evacuation areas. Building evacuation maps are located inside each unit at the primary entrance. If you do not have one, please notify your RA. 

Know what to do in an emergency: Learn campus emergency procedures to know how to respond in all types of emergencies. For all emergency response procedures, visit Emergency Desk Reference or request a printed copy of the Desk Reference from Police Services via email. 

Create a personal emergency communications plan: Determine how you will stay in contact with your family and friends if separated by a disaster. If possible, it’s a good idea to identify an out-of-state friend or relative as a “check-in contact”. 

CSUN emergency communications systems will be used to immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, staff, or faculty occurring on the campus, unless issuing a notification would compromise efforts to contain the emergency.

Here's a list of some of the common emergency communication methods used by CSUN. For full details, visit Emergency Communications. 

Blackboard Connect-Mass Notification System

The Blackboard Connect system allows CSUN Police Services the ability to send all students, staff, and faculty time-sensitive information about unforeseen events and emergencies using voice, email, and text messaging. The system is used to broadcast important, up-to-date information and provide details on appropriate responses. 

CSUN Social Media Sites

Facebook and X, as well as The Department of Police Services Facebook page, will be updated with emergency information as appropriate. 

Campus Carillon

The Carillon is an outdoor public broadcast system. It alerts persons who are outdoors and is not designed to be heard inside buildings. Real-time messages and emergency instructions can be broadcast. 

CSUN Home Page

During a critical incident or emergency, information will be prominently displayed on the home page. 

Emergency Signage

Emergency signage may be placed along the campus perimeter and within the campus to alert you to campus evacuation, closure, partial closure, or testing of emergency communications. 

Reporting an Emergency

Students can use the blue light phones located on campus to report an emergency. When activated, the phone connects directly to a CSUN police dispatcher. There are 60 blue light phones strategically placed on campus. There are also Yellow Emergency Call Boxes that are TTY-compatible for the hearing-impaired. 

CSUN Campus Status Information

Students may call the toll-free numbers during a campus emergency or critical incident for information on the status of the campus, including closures and class cancellations, as well as other announcements. Students and Community phone number: (866) 515-2786 

 

• Basic toiletries 
• Bottled water 
•  Blanket or sleeping bag 
•  Car emergency kits  
• Change of clothes 
• Disposable face masks
• Essential medications and eyeglasses 
• First Aid Kit 
• Flashlight - fresh and spare batteries 
• Flares 
• Hat or cap 
• Knife 
• Large plastic trash bags 
• Local maps 
• Money or traveler’s checks 
• Non-perishable food 
• Portable radio 
• Pre-moistened towelettes 
• Sanitation supplies 
• Sealable plastic bags
• Spare batteries 
• Sturdy shoes 

24-hour emergency (CSUN Police, Fire, or Medical): 911 
24-hour non-emergency: (818) 677-2111 

For a full contact list of emergency resources at CSUN, visit Emergency Communications. 

Matador Patrol: (818) 677-5042 or (818) 677-5048 
Klotz Student Health Center: (818) 677-3666 
Vehicle Jump starts or Key Lock-Out Assistance: (818) 677-2111 
Emergency Preparedness: 818-677-5973 
Environmental Health and Safety: 818-677-2401