Campus Safety

Preparedness at UB involves collaboration between leaders throughout the university, with community partners, and with local, state and federal agencies. The university regularly trains on emergency incidents, including conducting active shooter/hostile intruder drills. The university also offers programs on how students, faculty and staff should respond in the unlikely event of a hostile intruder on campus. 

The New York State University Police Department (UBPD) is a state and nationally accredited, professional police department headquartered on UB’s North Campus with a sub-station on UB’s South Campus. UBPD strives to provide police services that meet the specialized needs of a diverse university community, and conducts itself according to the highest professional standards at all times.

UBPD’s highly trained officers have full police status and the state authority to enforce and investigate violations of all laws and regulations as defined by the NYS Criminal Procedure Law and the Education Law of New York State.

UBPD has primary law enforcement jurisdiction on all property owned, leased or under the control of the University at Buffalo and works collaboratively with local, county and state law enforcement agencies within the City of Buffalo, the Town of Amherst as well as the Erie County Sherriff’s Department and NYS Police Department.  Signed agreements are in place with these agencies as well as Veterans Administration Police permitting each agency to request assistance from one another when required. Specifically, in the City of Buffalo, the UBPD has the authority to respond to low priority calls outside of UB’s South Campus, allowing the Buffalo Police Department to respond to higher priority incidents.

Over recent years, UB has invested more than $5 million in security enhancements on its campuses, including new lighting, security cameras and emergency Blue Light phones.  There are about 1,000 security cameras across all three campuses.  These cameras are deployed in and around public spaces, bus stops, dormitories and buildings, classrooms, labs and other facilities.

Amherst, N.Y., the site of UB's North Campus, has consistently been ranked one of the safest cities in the United States by CQ Press.  UB’s annual on-campus crime statistics are consistently very low and are lower than local communities.

The majority of reported on-campus criminal offenses are burglaries - the vast majority of these burglaries are petty thefts from unlocked dorm rooms and a few petty thefts from unlocked offices. UB classifies these petty thefts under CLERY as burglaries unless UB can confirm otherwise.

From crime prevention programs to our extensive, campus-wide emergency response program, UB has developed a comprehensive campus safety network designed to keep UB's campus community safe and secure.