When shopping colleges, a major aspect to consider is campus security. While there have been incidents on college campuses nationwide, the New York State University Police force work to keep SUNY students, faculty and staff safe.

About 7,000 students attend the SUNY New Paltz, and SUNY Police work to protect them and other members of the university community 24/7.

“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the students and the faculty and staff that are here to support them. So we’re another layer of that support, and it’s our primary goal to keep them all safe,” said Acting Chief of Police at SUNY New Paltz Michael Corbisiero.

Corbisiero said at least two patrol officers are in uniform monitoring the campus at all times.

“They’ll do their day-to-day activities of patrol, which will be vehicle patrol and foot patrol. They’ll walk in and out of buildings. They’ll say hi to the students and staff that are in the buildings, let everyone know they’re there,” Corbisiero said.

According to the acting chief, the most common type of crime that takes place at SUNY New Paltz is theft, which he said is also the most preventable.

“All of the crimes that happen outside of this campus can also happen here. So wherever you are in the world, if you would normally lock your door or lock your vehicle, please do so here,” Corbisiero said.

Northeastern University faced a scare in September when a former employee claimed he had been injured by an exploding package. The incident is now being investigated as a hoax but warranted a real police response.

Although SUNY New Paltz has not had any threats like that, Corbisiero said they have investigated suspicious objects on campus before.

“It all depends on how the call comes in. Is it an unattended package in a highly trafficked area? It doesn’t look like it belongs, and it would be through investigation as well, so our officers typically respond and clear the area,” Corbisiero said.

He said these situations can be avoided by diligent patrolling and reports from people in the area. The acting chief said keeping a campus safe requires everyone to participate.

“A lot of times, the students and staff members who are normally in those areas will pick up on something that seems out of place a lot quicker than anyone else, so it’s relying on the public to let us know that something is out of place,” Corbisiero said.

Although they have heard of issues, students said they feel safe.

“I feel really safe here. I like walking around campus at night and everything. I never get scared,” said Xenia Szycer, a sophomore at SUNY New Paltz.

“I feel like it’s a pretty safe campus,” said Jordan Armoogan, a senior at SUNY New Paltz.

Corbisiero wants people to know that if something ever concerns them on campus to contact the University Police Department.

“I would rather have investigated something that was unfounded then for someone to disregard something and it to have actually been a crime or some kind of incident,” Corbisiero said.