The Loyola University Chicago Department of Campus Safety supports peaceful protests and our students’ rights to lawfully express their opinions and perspectives on campus. However, it seems there has been some confusion about how Campus Safety operates at Loyola.

Loyola’s Campus Safety Department serves as our community’s first responders. We do not fund the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and they do not fund us. We are an independent safety function and police department established by the University for the protection of all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campuses. We are the University’s first point of help and assistance on campus before the CPD ever becomes involved.

Based on state statutes and other important considerations, it is not practical for our University to sever its professional working relationship with local law enforcement authorities. Under the State of Illinois’ Private College Campus Police Act, Loyola’s Campus Safety police officers and staff are legally required to work directly with the locally designated law authority. In the case of our Loyola community, the Chicago Police Department is the recognized regulatory law enforcement agency for the City of Chicago.

As the department that primarily serves to protect the Loyola community, we take this job and all of the responsibilities that come with it very seriously. This includes ongoing training and professional development. The reality is that Campus Safety’s working relationship with the CPD is vital to ensuring this protection year-round, especially with most of our students living off-campus in neighborhoods near the Lake Shore Campus.

Campus Safety officers work to provide valuable services to the Loyola community that go above and beyond normal police duties, i.e., student safety and medical transports and roommate or parent-requested wellness checks on or off campus (to name a few). When necessary, Loyola’s Campus Safety also engages the CPD for their investigative assistance, their emergency response assistance (especially in the event of an active shooter), their multi-faceted ability to aid in cases of missing persons and wellness checks, and other strategies and programs to safeguard our community.

We remain dedicated to ensuring your safety and well-being, and welcome the opportunity to discuss these important issues and share with you our guiding principles. One of the ways to get your questions answered is by emailing any non-emergency safety questions to asksafety@luc.edu. If you need us for an urgent situation, contact the Campus Safety Dispatcher (monitored 24/7/365) at 773.508.SAFE (7233).