Animal Bites Procedures

For any on-campus emergency, dial x1-911.
From a cell phone dial (413) 538-2304.

1. CONTROL BLEEDING: If bleeding, apply continuous pressure for 5-10 minutes. If bleeding is not controlled, seek medical assistance immediately (see #4 below).

2. CLEANSE WOUND: Wash all wounds immediately with soap or detergent solution and a high volume of water for at least 5 minutes, 10 minutes if extensive or extremely dirty. Primate bites require special care. Scrub with a solution such as chlorhexidine for 15 minutes under high volume of running water.

3. REPORT BITE: Report bite to your supervisor and to Public Safety (x2304).

4. SEEK MEDICAL FOLLOW-UP: Students: Go to the Health Center. For After Hours Care: Call Pulic Safety at x2304. Employees: Contact your health care provder.

Safety Alerts

When something major occurs on campus and we want everyone to know what to watch out for to help keep themselves safe, a safety alert is posted.

The safety alert is posted on the Public Safety website and flyer's are posted around campus. Also, you can check back here to get the information too. At this time there are no safety alerts, but if you want to check out previous ones, click on this link to safety alerts.

The alerts range from car break-ins to bike thefts to sexual assaults. So, please do not ignore these alerts since they do inform the community of important information.

Whats your patch?

Have you seen our wall of Police Department patches? If not, feel free to check it out. Its in our main hallway and we love to have visitors.

After you scan the wall and if you notice your hometown Police Department is not there, feel free to send us one. We would display it proudly for everyone to see. We love to receive new and exciting patches to display!

Blue Light Phones

I'm sure you've seen these yellow boxes all around campus, but you may not know what they are for. Well, let me tell you that they are the campuses Emergency Blue Light Phones.


The phones are directly linked to Public Safety, as long as you press the red button to make the call. You use these phones for times when you feel unsafe on campus or witness an event that you want Public Safety to know about right away.

These phones are all over campus, near buildings, in parking lots and on walk-ways. So, keep that in mind next time you need to contact Public Safety in an instant.

Bicycle Removal Efforts

Tis' the season for tagging and removing unregistered bicycles from campus. If you bike was tagged with a bright orange notice and you are indeed a current student, please stop by the Parking Office, which is located in Public Safety, to register your bicycle before it is removed from campus. Removal will start shortly. Registration is *FREE*!

If you are off campus and may have forgotten to register your bike before you left, contact the Parking Office at 413-538-2514.

If you have graduated, but left your bike on campus and would like to retrieve it, please stop by and do so! If you have graduated and you no longer want the bike, it will be considered abanded and then removed.

The reason bikes are removed from campus, its to make room for the registered ones and the additional bikes that will appear in the fall.

Don't be shy, stop by!

If you have a comment, question, need to make a report or want to request a dorm safety program please do not hesitate and stop by. Public Safety is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for you! This includes holidays, campus "shut downs" and over the summer.

You can also call us too! If you are on campus, our extension is 2304 and from off campus you can reach us by dialing 413-538-2304.

If you want to schedule a dorm safety workshop, ask for Officer Cournoyer-Cronk. She will check her schedule and get back to you as soon as possible with her availability.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Lost or Stolen Wallet?

A lost or stolen wallet is quite simply a nightmare. With the growing crime of identity theft, a lost wallet is now more than ever something to guard against. Below are some tips that can help minimize the damage.

Be Prepared! By taking these few simple steps you can respond quickly if your wallet or purse is ever lost or stolen:

Make photocopies of the contents of your wallet. Be sure to copy both the front and back of any double sided items - your license, credit cards, debit card, etc. Make sure account numbers and the customer service telephone numbers are legible, and store this list in a secure place that you can get to fast in the event of a loss (home and office).

Do NOT carry documents you do not need with you. Do not carry your birth certificate or social security card except when they are specifically needed. These items are pure gold to an identity thief. Store them safely in a place other than your wallet.

Make photocopies of the contents of your wallet. Be sure to copy both the front and back of any double sided items - your license, credit cards, debit card, etc. Make sure account numbers and the customer service telephone numbers are legible, and store this list in a secure place that you can get to fast in the event of a loss (home and office).

If your wallet or purse is stolen, immediately:

Cancel your credit cards and notify your bank (call the customer service numbers on your list). Note the date and time and ask the person you speak with to fax you confirmation of your report. This can serve as proof that you took all responsible steps to minimize the loss as your contract probably requires you to.

File a police report (on campus, contact Public Safety) in the jurisdiction where your purse or wallet was stolen. This marks the date and time for the credit card investigators.

Call the three national credit reporting organizations to place a fraud alert on your name and social security number.

• Equifax - www.equifax.com (1-888-766-0008)
• Experian - www.experian.com (1-888-397-3742)
• TransUnion - www.transunion.com (1-800-680-7289)

Most importantly, be informed about identity theft!

Unlimited information exists on how to survive identity theft and how to protect yourself. The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation features helpful information on their website: www.mass.gov/oca. The Federal Trade Commission also has dedicated an entire site to helping consumers understand and prevent this crime: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Keep your eye on your local news for cases that could be impacting you and take action promptly.

Thanks to the Massachusetts RMV for these tips!

Lost & Found

Among other things, the Public Safety dispatch center collects the lost & found items for the campus. Other departments do collect items but eventually everything makes its way to our collection.

Excepted collected items we have in our center-
Cell Phones
Keys (from dorm keys to car keys)
Watches
Valuables
Calculators
IPods
MP3 players
Money
One Cards
Cred/Debit Cards
Insurance Cards
Umbrellas

There are a few items we cannot collect due to sanitary concerns.
Those items are-
Clothing
Water Bottles
Travel Mugs

So, if you've lost something always check with us first. We may not have it right away since sometimes it takes a little while for your item to be found, but make sure to give us a call when you've noticed something has been lost.

What do the officers do?

Many people wonder what Public Safety Officers do on campus. The most important thing officers do is protect & maintain a safe environment on our campus.

The officers patrol the campus 24/7 while checking parking lots, buildings and other campus property to make sure everything is safe & working as they should be. If something out of the ordinary is found, our officers take care of it in a professional & courteous manner.

Other Duties-
Ride Card Transports
Safety Transports after midnight until dawn
Lockouts (as long as its your area for example, your dorm room or classroom)
Jump starts for your vehicles dead battery (while you are on campus)
Vehicle Lockouts (while you are on campus)
And many other things!

Community Programs-
RAD Self Defence Classes
Dorm Activities for Personal Safety
Vehicle Maintenance Programs
Alcohol Awareness
And many other things that may arise

Wanna know what's going on?

If you want to know what's going on in Public Safety, you know, the calls the officers respond too and other things, check out the daily logs! They are updated, well daily! They are posted on the Public Safety website too!

So, if you were ever curious what our fanatic officers are up to, check it out. The log is always posted in the MHC News, but this is a quicker way to find out what you need to know.