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Safety & Security

Education first, Safety Always

Welcome From the Director of Public Safety

On behalf of the Department of Public Safety here at Tidewater Community College (TCC), welcome to our webpage.

The safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is always the top priority of TCC and the Department of Public Safety.

The Department of Public Safety at TCC strives to create and maintain a safe, secure environment for the college community. Each campus is staffed with security guards who have completed Security Training through the Department of Criminal Justice System of Virginia and hold a license by the state to work Security

Our webpage contains links to our Annual Security Report, information regarding campus resources, personal safety/crime deterrence, campus alerts and an online reporting system for incidents that are not in progress and are not emergencies.

TCC Department of Public Safety believes the best way to build safer communities is to work together as a team. Overall, our campuses are safe, but we need your active participation and continued support of our efforts to suppress crime effectively. Hear it! See it! Report it!

Please feel free to contact us at any time to request security assistance, general information, or Public Safety programs. Remember, a truly safe campus can only be achieved through the cooperation of its students, faculty, and staff.

Respectfully,

Michael Powell, MPA, MS
Director of Public Safety

Stay informed: TCC Alerts

TCC Alerts is an opt-in emergency notification system used by the college. During an emergency, severe weather event, or other time-sensitive situation impacting the college community, TCC officials can send notifications to subscribed phone numbers and email addresses.

Sign up for TCC Alerts

Emergency Preparedness

An emergency can occur at any time without warning. The Department of Public Safety provides guidance, direction and training to the college community on prevention, protection, response, and recovery from emergency incidents.

Learn more about emergency preparedness

Omnigo Community Mobile Application

In January, 2020, Tidewater Community College launched Omnigo Community, a mobile app designed to improve communications among students, staff, faculty and TCC’s Department of Public Safety.

Users will have the ability to report a crime or suspicious activity. The app will provide informational resources, such as campus camps, student handbook and a crime log, there is also a silent alert button that will call TCC dispatch and provide a GPS location. There is also an emergency one push 911 call button. Additionally, users will have access to chat live with a public safety dispatcher and report information anonymously. 

To obtain the app, search and download it for free from the Apple or Google Play Store. Use the Organization ID: Tidewater Community College and the PIN: 1122.


CRIME & INCIDENT REPORTING

If you know of or have heard of a crime in progress, medical emergency, or fire on campus and you would like to report it, call the TCC Dispatch Center at #757-822-7777, or report it directly to 911. Be sure to also call the TCC Dispatch Center, so security can respond to provide support and direct police or other emergency services to the correct location. Some examples of in progress incidents include suspicious activity/person/property, college policy violations, criminal activity, and emergencies. Please provide as much detail as possible and stay on the phone with the dispatcher. Your call may be transferred to a 911 center if first responders are needed.

For non-emergency, and events not in progress, you may call TCC Campus Dispatch, (757-822-7777) or use the online reporting form. Examples of using online reporting may include unsafe conditions ( lights out, overgrown shrubbery), graffiti, or events not in progress such as college policy violations other security & safety concerns. All our efforts are aimed at providing a safe environment where our students and employees can thrive.

We hope you will use the information contained on this page to become TCC’s partner in crime prevention and maintaining a safe learning environment.

online Report Form

All information will be kept strictly confidential. However, if you wish to speak to someone after filling out this form, contact the Director of Public Safety, or fill in the optional last field of this form. If you see a crime being committed, report it immediately to the police. 

Submit a Report form

resources

The Federal Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act of 2000 requires all colleges to issue a statement advising the campus community where information on registered sex offenders can be obtained. The Virginia State Police website provides information about registered sex offenders. Once you are on their website, click on Search the Offender Registry in the list to the left. You will then see several tabs for ways to search the registry.

Annual Security Reports

TCC is required by federal law to publish an Annual Security Report by October 1 each year. Three years of statistics are included for certain types of crimes that were reported to have occurred on-campus, in or on non-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the university and on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus.

Campus Security Authority Crime Incident Report

If you are an individual identified as a “Campus Security Authority,” use the following form to report the required information about specified crimes pursuant to the federal Clery Act. Information collected from these forms is used to prepare a compilation of statistical crime information for inclusion in TCC’s Annual Security Report.

The Clery Act identifies four specific categories of individuals and organizations who shall be designated as CSAs. The specific designations for TCC are listed below:

  • (1.) All members of the TCC Department of Public Safety who have security-related responsibilities, whether directly employed by the college or contracted.
  • (2) Other Individuals Responsible for Campus Security are College staff who are not assigned to the TCC Department of Public Safety. A campus security authority (CSA) is defined in the federal regulation as any person with significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but no limited to, student discipline and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined as any person who has the authority and duty to take-action or respond to a practical issue(s) on behalf of the institution.
  • (3) College staff and organizations identified to receive reports of criminal activities in TCC’s Annual Security Report; i.e. VP for Student Affairs, Campus Deans, Discipline Deans.
  • (4) TCC Officials with Significant Responsibility for Student and Campus Activities and other college officials to whom students may report/confide criminal activity.
CSA Incident Report

Department of Public Safety

one call, one phone number: 757-822-7777

Hear it, See it, Report it.

Chesapeake

George C. Pass
Building 1428 Cedar Rd., Chesapeake, VA 23322

Norfolk

Andrews Science Building,
315 Granby St.,
Norfolk, VA 23510

Portsmouth

Building A
120 Campus Dr.,
Portsmouth, VA 23701

Virginia Beach

Princess Anne Building, A-100G
1700 College Crescent,
Virginia Beach, VA 23453

Contact Us

Department of Public Safety
121 College Place, Suite 404
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
Phone: 757-822-7777
Fax: 757-822-1245

Mike Powell, Director of Public Safety
Kiavi Taylor, Assistant to Director of Public Safety