Safety and security at UM

With over 40,000 people on campus daily, our highest priority is providing a safe and secure environment for all students, staff, and visitors. To enhance safety measures and reassure the community of UM’s commitment to their physical well-being, UM Security Services offers comprehensive programs and initiatives to support safety on all UM campuses.

Safety resources

UM’s Security Services department is staffed with full-time institutional safety officers and security guards who work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They offer a wide variety of programs and initiatives to support the safety and security of our UM community, including:

• SafeWalk/Safe ride program
  You don’t have to walk alone on campus. Safe walks and safe rides are provided at both campuses 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To request a safe walk or safe ride please call 204-789-3330 for the Bannatyne campus and 204-474-9312 for the Fort Garry or William Norrie campus.
• Working alone program
  This program supports employees who work alone to mitigate risk through the development of a safe work plan.
• Crime prevention through environmental design
  Security services staff offer site assessments and provide security recommendations regarding lighting, foot traffic and infrastructure.
• Classes, workshops and training
  Annually, UM Security Services conducts and coordinates several formal presentations, workshops and training sessions to address both campus and personal safety for student groups, staff and faculty.
• Monthly newsletter
  Each month, UM Security Services publishes a newsletter featuring safety messages and statistics that offer insight into the daily operations of the department.

Our campuses also have 1,000 closed-circuit television cameras on campus, in various classrooms, hallways, parking lots and other public areas. These cameras are actively monitored by UM Security Services staff.

Recent enhancements to security on campus

Recently, the university has made immediate physical improvements to student residences. An additional security presence was added in each student residence lobby and will remain in place 24 hours a day until the university’s security assessment at the student residences is complete and recommendations are implemented.

In the spring of 2024, UM launched the Institutional Safety Officer (ISO) program to enhance campus safety and increase coordination with public emergency services. ISOs are peace officers with responsibilities under provincial legislation and are trained in public safety, crime prevention, and de-escalation techniques. The launch included full-day Open Houses where the university community could meet the ISOs at the Fort Garry and Bannatyne campuses, as well as members from the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management (OHRCM), Student Engagement and Success, and the Sexual Violence Resource Centre. The Open House was an opportunity for UM community members to discuss a variety of services that comprehensively address safety on our campuses.

UM is also expanding its security staff, adding four new ISOs on the Bannatyne campus and hiring an assistant director to enhance operational support, compliance, and training.

UM will continue to review and update its security measures and protocols to ensure our processes align with our commitment to a safe and supportive environment.

How UM communicates in a security incident

We work closely with emergency services to support community notifications and updates. Additionally, UM has several methods for emergency and urgent communications, including our loudspeaker, social media, email, umanitoba.ca, UM Learn and the UM Safe mobile app. The app sends safety alerts and provides instant access to campus safety resources. Please download the app if you haven’t done so already.

Contacting security

For safety information and programs, visit Security Services.

We offer several services to assist you daily, including call response, Safe Walk, Friend Walk, Working Alone, and the emergency mobile blue light feature through the free University of Manitoba Safety App. Download Android or iOS.

You can reach Security Services operations centre 24/7:

• Non-emergency: 204-474-9312
• Emergency: 204-474-9341
• 555 from University landlines
• #555 from Rogers and BellMTS cell phones

Code Blue stations and red call boxes also provide direct emergency communication with Security Services.

For more information about UM’s comprehensive emergency response plan, please visit the university website.