Welcome to the Department of Public Safety Website

On behalf of the employees of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Department of Public Safety, I would like to welcome you to the Internet home page for the Department. Throughout these pages, you will find very useful information concerning personal safety, crime prevention tips, crime awareness education, and parking services. It is our sincere hope that this information will be of benefit to you and assist you with having the best experience possible with the University as a student, faculty member, staff member or visitor. It is our mission to assist all members of the campus community in the safe and secure pursuit of education by providing an environment that promotes individual responsibility and protects human rights. Todd D. Sigler, Director

Department of Public Safety

The SIUC Department of Public Safety works with the University community to:

• Protect people at the University.
• Educate our community about security issues, personal safety measures, and protective strategies.
• Prevent disruption of University activities and misuse of premises.
• Protection against theft or abuse.
• Provide a visible, reassuring and readily accessible presence.
• Foster beneficial community relations.

The Department of Public Safety reports to the Executive Director of Administration. Additional information may be available by visiting that website.

If you need assistance, please let us know and we will do our very best to provide you with the service that you would expect from a professional law enforcement agency. Then, please take time to fill out our Campus Community Survey to comment on that service you received from our department and staff . Once you have finished, print the form and mail it to the address on the front of the form.

Campus Community Survey

Thank you and we hope you have an enjoyable experience at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Night Safety Transit Service
The phone to Transit is 453-2212 and for the Evening Van 453-2004, for all other information please call 453-3771 (DPS1).

Night Safety Transit Service (formally known as Women’s Night Safety Transit Service) was established in the Spring of 1980 to provide a safe non-threatening means of transportation to students both on and off campus through Night Safety Transit, Evening Van for students with disabilities and, the Brightway Path.

Night Safety Transit Service is a student funded service administered by the Department of Public Safety and staffed with employees of the Saluki Student Patrol.

Night Safety Transit Service’s regular hours of operation are Sunday – Friday 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM ( 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM during daylight saving time). The service consists of one minivan and one evening van (for students with disabilities). A transit is accessible for students currently enrolled in good standing. Transit takes students from an on-campus location to their off-campus residence and vice versa for study and campus related activities. The Brightway Path is the most well-lit walking route on campus for those students who are going from campus to campus destinations and not eligible to ride transit. A map of the Brightway Path is available at the Department of Public Safety’s web-site ( www.dps.siu.edu ).

Click here for more information on commonly asked questions (who can ride, cost, areas of coverage) about the Night Safety Transit.

Parking Division
Traffic and parking conditions change frequently. Find current, up to date traffic and parking information and policies at this website. Contact Parking Division.


Police Department
The SIUC Police Department is a 24-hour full-service police department that responds to all emergency and police type calls on campus. The officers also provide crime prevention programs, traffic control, and other services to the university population. Contact the Police Department.


Saluki Patrol
The Saluki Patrol is an unsworn police cadet program that offers students at SIUC the opportunity to work directly for a police department. The program is of benefit to the student by providing an excellent introduction to law enforcement and university security programs, while helping to finance their college education. It further develops interest in Law Enforcement as a career and provides valuable experience in the field. Contact the Saluki Patrol.


SIUC Alerts
SIUC Alert page will be used in the event of an emergency to post SIUC Alerts and additional information, if available.

SIUC Alerts are messages about an emergency. The message may alert you to an emergency situation, ask you to take action, or both. Any information about flash floods, severe thunderstorms, winter storms, tornadoes, etc. will also be sent as an SIUC Alert.

You can also dial 1-866-264-6420 or 618-453-5375, the Emergency Information Line, to listen to SIUC Alerts.

Click here to obtain an Emergency Communications Card which lists all of the emergency communications distribution web sites, the Emergency Information Line phone number, buildings with a loud speaker system, and the SIUC Police Emergency Band frequency.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale also uses a wireless emergency notification system (WENS). In this system, an SIUC Alert is sent to your cell phone as a text-message and/or as an e-mail to your e-mail address. Click on the link below for further information.

Wireless Emergency Notification System

Telephone Number Change
The Non-Emergency telephone number for the Department of Public Safety changed on August 1, 2005 to (618) 453-DPS1 (3771). Please update your directories and programmable phones.