Campus Safety

Laurier's Special Constables

The members of the Laurier Special Constable Service (SCS) are sworn peace officers. Special constables are employed by the university but receive their designation and training through the Waterloo Regional Police Service or the Brantford Police Service and the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

The SCS has the authority to enforce the Canadian Criminal Code, the Ontario Provincial Offences Act, the Mental Health Act, the Cannabis Control Act and municipal by-laws.

The SCS is staffed by special constables, two full-time communications operators with student dispatch support and a student liaison.

The communications centre is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to your needs, concerns and emergencies. Special constables are first responders to all campus emergencies and are the liaison between other emergency services and the university.

Special constables receive special constable recruit training, PEACE interview training, International Police Mountain Biking Association training, Mental Health First Aid, First Responder First Aid and Use of Force.

The SCS is committed to:

• Crime prevention, education, customer service, encouraging partnerships, and the protection of rights that will enhance the quality of life for our students, faculty, staff and visitors.
• Using community policing to solve and prevent crime through education and the formation of partnerships to make Laurier a safer place to live, learn and work.

The role of special constables is to:

• Enforce city by-laws, provincial offences and federal statutes when contravention is on, or in relation to, any university owned, operated or leased property.
• Lay charges and/or make arrests under the same legal authority as police officers.
• Implement the Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct, in partnership with the Dean of Students Office, when appropriate. This code affirms students’ rights and responsibilities coupled with acceptance and accountability for individual actions and their consequences.
• Conduct foot, bike and vehicle patrols of our campuses.

Keeping You Safe

The SCS can be contacted by any on-campus phone by dialling x3333.

There are also emergency poles located on campus – these are direct lines to the SCS and the location is immediately identified, so be assured that special constables will respond to your location, even if you can’t talk.

Many of our buildings are also monitored by video surveillance cameras to keep our campuses safe.

All elevators are equipped with an emergency button that acts as a direct line to the SCS as well.

SAFEHawk Mobile Safety App

Laurier’s mobile safety app is available for Android, BlackBerry and Apple users. From the app, users can call special constables in an emergency, report suspicious activity on campus, and access campus and community support services quickly and conveniently.