Public Safety

Catawba College, Salisbury, and Rowan County are vibrant, charming, and safe places to live united by a strong sense of community. Our Office of Public Safety works in collaboration with our many campus and community partners to ensure Catawba College remains a safe and secure environment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to learn, live, and work.

Our department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but our services go beyond patrolling and responding to emergencies. We’ll escort you back to your residence hall after a late dinner or study session, train you in emergency self-defense, along with other services.

See something? Say something!

Report suspicious activity, behaviors of concern, or incidents on or near campus using CatWatch.

To report threatening situations or behavior:

Call Public Safety at 704.637.4000 or dial 911
Report an incident or a concern using CatWatch (catawba.edu/catwatch).
Make a report in person by contacting any administrative office on campus for assistance

Report an Incident

Report a Concern

Emergency

Dial 911 if you have an emergency needing an ambulance, fire department, or off-campus police department.

Catawba College Public Safety: 704.637.4000
Email: secure@catawba.edu
Location: Jann House (126 Summit Ave)

Catawba Connect by SafeZone

Catawba Connect by SafeZone

A free app to help keep you safe.

In the event of an emergency, the Catawba Connect feature in the SafeZone app allows you to quickly share your location and details with the local response team who will be able to get the right assistance to you.

Features include:

Check-in and Check-in Timer feature which allows you to share your live location with security responders if working alone or feeling vulnerable.
Automatic alert sent on your behalf if you fail to extend or cancel the check-in timer. This is ideal if you are in areas of increased risk and want additional peace of mind.
Reporting non-urgent concerns straight to Public Safety, as well as notifying you in the event of an emergency on site.

Get the App

Parking Information

Catawba provides designated parking areas for students, College employees, and visitors. All parking spaces on campus other than visitor spaces require a permit. You must register and obtain a parking permit with Public Safety for each vehicle you will park on campus.

More about Parking

Safety on Campus

The safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors is of primary concern to Catawba College. Our Public Safety officers are always on the job. Public safety officers conduct regular foot, golf cart, and car patrols of all campus buildings, grounds, and parking areas. Residence halls are patrolled and monitored around the clock.

More about Safety on Campus

Learn More:

The Office of Public Safety at Catawba College is established to provide quality service in partnership with our community to ensure a safe and secure environment that will support and enhance the learning process. We are committed to the prevention of crime and the protection of life and property; the preservation of peace, order, and safety; the enforcement of laws of the State of North Carolina along with the rules and regulations of Catawba College.

With community service as our foundation, we are driven by goals to enhance the quality of campus life, investigating problems as well as incidents, seeking solutions and fostering a sense of security through programs reflecting the needs and desires of the Catawba College community. We nurture trust by holding ourselves to the highest standards of performance and ethics.

Catawba’s Office of Public Safety has three North Carolina certified medical responders, one trained Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) certified instructor, one Field Liaison Officer, one certified bike patrol officer through the International Police Mountain Bike Association. All officers are CPR and First Aid certified and they are preparing to be certified in Mental Health First Aid.

We are an accredited Public Safety department through the National Association of Campus Security Administrators (NACSA). NACSA is the largest association of campus safety administrators in the country. The program consists of four focus areas: training, personnel, operations, and compliance. (Date accredited: 10/25/23)

All new students, faculty, and staff must create an account to receive CatawbAlerts:

On-Campus Member Sign-Up

Family and community members may also sign up at:
Off-Campus Member Sign-Up

Each user may register up to two text (cell) numbers, six (off-campus) e-mail addresses, and four voice numbers. When an emergency occurs on campus — anything from inclement weather to a life-threatening situation — a brief CatawbAlert will promptly be sent via the numbers or e-mail addresses you have registered. The CatawbAlert is a condensed summary of an emergency situation; characters are limited due to constraints on the length of text messages.

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report - PDF

Crime Statistics

As required by federal law, Catawba College reports those crimes that have occurred on campus. Data are reported as per the new requirements and data from earlier years are presented as was previously required by federal law. The College does not have any grounds or buildings that fall into the category of "Non-campus buildings or Property." Copies of the College's crime statistics report can be obtained from the Office of Public Safety.

Fire Safety Report

Catawba College Public Safety is accredited by the National Association of Campus Safety Administrators

Office of Public Safety

secure@catawba.edu

Hours

24/7

Phone

704.637.4000

Location

Jann House
126 Summit Ave

Social

Facebook

Public Safety

See something? Say something!

See something? Say something!

Report suspicious activity, behaviors of concern, or incidents on or near campus using CatWatch.

Emergency

Emergency

Catawba Connect by SafeZone