A Division of Administration and Finance

August 2023

Aug. 15, 2023

Dear UMB Community:

Welcome (or welcome back) to another amazing year at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)! I love seeing the excitement and energy of a new semester. Our UMB Police and Public Safety team is here to support you and keep you safe during your time at UMB.

The beginning of the school year is a good time to brush up on safety tips. Secure your valuables inside a bag that has a zipper or clasp. Put away your cellphone and headphones when walking outside. Walk in a group when possible and always stick to well-traveled, well-lit pathways.

Keep your eyes open for a more formal welcome letter from me. In the meantime, please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our monthly public safety newsletter to get the latest public safety tips!

Sincerely,

Thomas Leone, MSL

Assistant Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police

Public Safety Update

Safety Tip of the Month: Secure Your Vehicle and Valuables

It’s always a good idea to keep your vehicle doors locked, whether you’re driving, sitting inside your parked vehicle, or leaving your vehicle to head to class or the office. Place valuables out of sight and locked inside your trunk.

Serving Our Community

Scan Your One Card in Every Building

Always scan your One Card at the red and green card reader when entering a UMB building lobby. For the safety of our UMB community, a security officer will remind you to swipe if you forget. Please remember our core values set of Respect and Integrity; our security officers are doing their job.

Safe Ride System Upgrade Brings Small Changes

Safe Ride is getting an upgrade! Faculty, staff, and students who request a ride through the Mobile UMB app beginning Monday, Aug. 14, will notice small changes to the way the Safe Ride service interface looks. The UMB Police and Public Safety’s free ride service is still available from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on campus and in neighboring communities. Read more.

Take a Campus Tour with Public Safety and Parking and Transportation Services

UMB Public Safety is teaming up with Parking and Transportation Services and community partners to provide an expanded campus tour for new students! Students will walk the campus while learning campus, parking, and safety information. The tour ends at Lexington Market, where community partners from Everyman Theatre, Hippodrome Theatre, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, and Baltimore Public Markets will provide snacks and information about their programs. Contact Jahmoy Colquhoun to learn more about campus tours or to arrange for a tour as part of your school's new student orientation program: jcolquhoun@police.umaryland.edu

There are only a few spots left for Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) for Women Basic Physical Self-Defense training. This free 10-hour, hands-on course is designed to emphasize confidence and self-discipline while developing and enhancing self-defense options. The course will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from Aug. 29 to Sept. 28 from either noon to 1:30 p.m. or 5 to 6:30 p.m. Space is limited, so register now!

UMB Public Safety by the Numbers: July

Each month, UMB Public Safety provides thousands of valuable services and resources to the communities we serve. In this segment, we highlight the previous month’s data to showcase the work of our employees.

Safe Rides given: 2,353
Average time from Safe Ride request to pickup: 13 minutes
Number of building checks: 2,520
Number of local business checks: 239
Number of garage checks: 798
Number of visitors logged: 9,815

UMB Office of the Fire Marshal

The UMB Office of the Fire Marshal is a part of UMB Public Safety.

Lightning Safety

Thunder and lightning storms happen all the time. Know what to do to keep you and your family safe when storms strike!

Code Corner: Highlighting Common Fire Code Violations

The means of egress is the path of travel from any point within a building to a public way, which includes all hallways, corridors, stairwells, and exit doors. A clear and unobstructed means of egress is required so that occupants can safely evacuate the building in the event of an emergency. Relocate any items from the means of egress into an interior space. Corridor storage may be permitted if at least 44 inches of clear width is provided. Absolutely no storage is permitted in stairwells. Do not block exit doors.

Learn about additional common code violations from the UMB Office of the Fire Marshal. If you have questions, please reach out to the UMB Office of the Fire Marshal directly at FireMarshal@umaryland.edu.

Public Safety Partners

Office of Emergency Management (OEM)

Become a Preparedness Pro

The Preparedness Pro digital credential is composed of five preparedness trainings offered by OEM, the UMB Office of the Fire Marshal, Environmental Health and Safety, and the UMB Police Department. Learn more about scheduling a training with your department today!

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

Changes Are Coming for BioRAFT Lab Inspections and EHS Training

EHS uses the BioRAFT software platform to manage lab profiles, including members, hazards, certain radiation safety functions, and annual inspections. Multiple updates are happening this month:

BioRAFT is rebranding to SciShield. Old URLs will be redirected to the new instance and you may receive automated emails from scishield.com. EHS is launching lab safety training on SciShield. Courses will be online this month. Training requirements and history have not yet been imported. Be on the lookout for those soon.
Hazards and members must be updated and confirmed annually. EHS lab inspectors will check if you have updated your hazards and your members lists within the past year.
ChemTracker inventories are still being imported. Around half of all labs have submitted their inventories for import. Submit yours soon!

Call EHS at 410-706-7055 for any questions or concerns.