USN has contracted the Vanderbilt University Police Department to provide campus security and oversee the school’s comprehensive physical security plan as well as training for faculty, staff, and K-12 students.
VUPD is a law enforcement agency accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police. VUPD employs approximately 100 sworn police officers commissioned and empowered with the same authority to enforce laws as any other law enforcement agency and operates through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. VUPD also has access to USN’s cameras and the ability to lock exterior doors remotely in the event of an emergency.
School Resource Officers are certified police officers who are primarily assigned to a school and provide safety and security-related functions, including emergency response, safety training, traffic direction, and patrol functions. Community Service Officers are our non-sworn security officers who focus on observing and reporting but also have a strong customer service aspect to their position. These commissioned police officers and security officers establish relationships with students through activities such as reading to Lower Schoolers in Hassenfeld library, accompanying Middle Schoolers on a ride around Vanderbilt University’s campus on bikes students refurbished in art class, and speaking at High School assemblies.