Kathy Guimond is the Chief of Police for the University of New Mexico. Her total campus law enforcement experience exceeds 34 years. She has served as UNM’s Chief of Police for more than 13 years. She is retired from the Northern Illinois University Police Department, after serving as a lieutenant, sergeant and police officer for more than 21 years. She was the catalyst for a change in Illinois’ domestic violence law and was instrumental in developing the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) concept that is now utilized throughout the country. She was also employed at Kishwaukee Community College in Illinois, where she taught courses in constitutional law, crime prevention and police‐community relations. She holds a B.A. from Northern Illinois University with a double major in Political Science and History. Her graduate work is in Political Science‐Public Law. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 173^rd Session in Quantico, Virginia.

UNM Emergency Notification System - Have your student click here to sign up!

Safety at UNM a community effort

Parents are especially concerned about the safety of their students away from home, and the UNM Police Department strives to provide you with as much information as possible about campus safety. The university posts crime statistics and safety tips online and members of our department spend time each semester with new students and parents to educate them about campus safety. When people review our crime statistics, they are often surprised that the crime rate on campus is very low. In fact, when compared with other communities in Albuquerque, and even other major urban universities, UNM ranks among the safest areas of town. But that doesn’t mean that UNM is not working hard to keep us all safe.

UNM is fortunate to have its own police department right on campus. The department is staffed by over thirty sworn police officers who patrol our campus full time. These officers are state certified and receive the highest level of training available. They have full authority to arrest and investigate crimes, both on and off campus. We partner with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Albuquerque Police Department and State Police, to share information and coordinate our efforts to prevent and solve crimes. In addition, our officers train other members of our community to be “eyes and ears” for the department, making them more aware of their surroundings and teaching them how to report suspicious activity on campus. To date, we have already trained over 300 non‐police staff, including Residence Hall Security, Physical Plant staff and bus drivers.

The police department also employs civilian security staff and students who patrol campus, provide escorts on and off campus and assist persons with vehicle problems. We even staff and support a campus‐wide Emergency Operations Center that coordinates our response to major incidents with University departments and other agencies throughout the city, county and state. The University’s Emergency Management Committee also coordinates several emergency drills a year to test our preparedness for and response to emergencies.

Even with all of this in place, we are constantly looking to improve the services we provide! Taking lessons from the Virginia Tech tragedy, UNM moved quickly to enhance our emergency notification systems already in place. You and your student can receive emails and text messages about developing incidents on campus. Students can go to the UNM homepage and click on the “Emergency Notification System” link to subscribe.

At the UNM Police Department, we are enhancing our Web site to make it easier for you to learn about emergency procedures on campus, as well as the education programs we provide for the community. Safety at UNM is a community effort. By taking simple steps, such as locking dorm rooms while we are away and keeping valuables out of sight in our cars, we are all contributing to a safer campus. We also encourage students to tell someone, even anonymously if necessary, about persons they know in crisis so that we can intervene and provide counseling or assistance in time to help.

As you can see, keeping UNM safe is a job we take seriously. We want our community to feel safe. As parents, you are a VERY important part of our community and we want to hear from you if you have concerns, or if you see us doing a good job! Take time to visit us and learn more about us and how we work to keep you and your student safe!

Tips for pedestrians, skateboarders, bicyclists
As campus is crowded and schedules are rushed, we all have to take extra steps to prevent accidents and needless injuries. Pedestrians, skateboarders and bicyclists on campus can work to keep themselves safe by following a few simple tips:

-Before stepping off the curb into a crosswalk, stop and look in both directions to be sure that approaching traffic sees you.

-When riding a bicycle, travel with the flow of traffic, never into it. Other drivers are expecting bicyclists to stop and yield the right of way, just like another driver

-Never skateboard in the street, even in a crosswalk. Skateboarders are often too fast and too small for drivers to see

-Always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or skateboard. Wear reflective clothing or lights at night to ensure that others can see you when biking

UNM Police also offer a 24‐hour escort service to those needing an escort from an on‐campus location to anywhere on campus or to a location near UNM. Call 277‑2241 for more information.