Protecting WashU Medicine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The medical campus and certain off-campus properties owned by WashU are protected 24/7 by a combined force of officers, employed by WashU Medicine’s Protective Services.
Types of Officers:
- Armed Response Officers
- Unarmed Communications Officers
- Unarmed Public Safety Officers
- Unarmed contract security officers supplement this coverage by staffing fixed posts at designated buildings.
Selected response officers are assigned to the Bike Patrol.
These armed officers wear special uniforms and carry equipment designed specifically for the Bike Patrol function.
Response officers assigned to the Bike Patrol are responsible for patrolling the exterior areas of the entire campus during day and evening hours.
Emphasis is placed on the safety of people utilizing WashU Medicine parking lots and garages, walking between buildings, riding bikes, or traveling to and from the Central West End MetroLink and MetroBus Stations located on campus.
Patrol of the campus is performed on foot, in marked patrol vehicles, and on specially equipped bikes.
Protection is provided for buildings located on approximately 164 acres, within the 4.6-mile campus perimeter. There are high-rise WashU Medicine parking garages and numerous surface-level parking lots.
Protective Services provides a prompt, professional response to every request for authorized security services or reports of crime on campus.
Protective Services patrol supervisors, response officers, and public safety officers wear a uniform with identifying WashU badges and patches.
Protective Services’ Director, Assistant Director for Patrol, and Investigations are armed and possess the same police powers as other officers. They may wear civilian attire, authorized by a uniform exemption from the licensing authority, or the designated department uniform.
All of the response officers, public safety officers and contract security officers are licensed by the Private Security Section of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Missouri State statute, through the licensing power of the Private Security Section of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department or St. Louis County Police Department, grants all licensed in-house officers powers of arrest, search and seizure, etc., on licensed premises during on-duty hours.
Some officers are authorized to carry firearms and personal-protection devices. These officers are responsible for the protection of persons and property and the enforcement of federal, state, and municipal laws, as well as university rules and regulations.
Public safety officers carry radios, handcuffs, and authorized personal-protection devices, excluding firearms and expandable batons.
They respond primarily to non-criminal, non-emergency situations on campus. Contract security officers are unarmed. They wear their company uniforms and provide basic officer services for their assigned, fixed posts in buildings.
A close working relationship is maintained with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and security agencies in the area, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital Public Safety, Children’s Hospital Public Safety, University of Health Science & Pharmacy Campus Safety, and Cortex Innovation Community.
Every effort is made to ensure the safety of persons, protect their property from theft, and, if necessary, recover stolen items and evidence. Protective Services works closely with WashU Medicine’s administrators.