A letter on campus safety and preparedness to the Virginia Tech community
Photo by Clark DeHart for Virginia Tech.
From: Public Safety
At Virginia Tech, the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community stand as our top priority. Through comprehensive safety protocols, ongoing training, and the diligent efforts of our dedicated personnel, we strive to create a space where every member of our campus community can thrive.
Virginia Tech Emergency Management’s mission is to build, improve, and sustain university resilience, departmental readiness, and individual preparedness. Virginia Tech Emergency Management works closely with the Virginia Tech Police Department, Residential Well-Being, Cook Counseling Center, Schiffert Health Center, and the Dean of Students Office, among other university departments, to accomplish these goals.
We encourage every member of the Virginia Tech community to Be Hokie Ready — to actively engage in basic emergency preparedness efforts. We recommend all members of the university community take these simple steps to begin:
Call 911 to report or request assistance during an emergency.
Subscribe to VT Alerts.
Download the Hokie Ready mobile app, which includes Be Hokie Ready resources so you can be prepared in an emergency. Resources include a Friend Walk to send your location in real-time to friends or family members so they can follow you as you walk to your destination and the ability to easily share reports of suspicious activity with police personnel.
Program the nonemergency phone number for the Virginia Tech Police Department in your cell phone contacts: 540-382-4343.
Learn the difference between secure-in-place, shelter-in-place, and evacuation.
Take a moment to learn about timely warnings, the “Crime Alert” and “Situational Awareness Alert" emails sent to the university community, along with other support resources.
On-campus residents should meet the residence life resource officers (RLRO). Officer hours are located in Pritchard Hall on most Thursday afternoons. Students can contact the resource officers by phone at 540-231-6102 or via RLRONation Facebook or Instagram.
Though the safety of the Hokie Nation is a collective responsibility, it does require action. Individual emergency preparedness is the first and most important step in creating a resilient university environment. Do your part by completing the actions above. Your partnership helps ensure every community member can live, learn, and work in a safe and supportive environment.
Annual notice on campus security and fire safety
Virginia Tech is committed to assisting all members of the university community in providing for their own safety and security.
The 2023 Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report of all Virginia Tech campuses will be available on Oct. 1, 2024, on the Virginia Tech Police Department website at: http://www.police.vt.edu/crime-stats/clery.html.
If you would like to request a paper copy of the report, you can stop by the Virginia Tech Police Department Security Center, located in the Public Safety Building at 330 Sterrett Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, or by calling 540-231-1335 to receive a copy by mail.
The website and report contain information regarding campus safety and personal safety, including topics such as crime prevention, fire safety, Virginia Tech Police law enforcement authority, crime reporting policies, student conduct procedures, and other matters of importance related to safety and security on campus. The report also contains crime statistics for the three previous calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus, in certain off campus buildings, off campus property owned or controlled by Virginia Tech, public property within the campus, and public property immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.
This information is provided by the Virginia Tech Police Department as required by law under the Clery Act Article 20 U.S.C. §1092(f).
