Campus Safety Awareness
Toccoa Falls maintains a Security Department as a proprietary function of the college. It is empowered to enforce the rules and regulations of this college on all one thousand acres. The department maintains a good working relationship with the Toccoa city police and the Stephens County sheriff’s office. The department is staffed 24 hours a day to provide:- A relatively quick response to all emergencies including traffic accidents, pedestrian accidents, and fires,
- To monitor persons coming onto or leaving our campus between the hours of 8 PM and 7 AM
- To perform a security patrol for the purpose of crime prevention, with routine checks of our facilities
- To be available, to facilitate the reporting of crimes or other security problems and to document all reported instances
- To provide other services as needed by the college community such as crowd control at athletic events, parking for special events, to assist visitors, and if necessary to summon help from other emergency agencies
- To serve as the delegated authority for the enforcement of all campus rules, including the State of Georgia traffic code.
Hours of Access
Academic buildings are opened in the mornings and remain open during the regular school class hours. The buildings are patrolled on a regular basis after being locked for the purpose of maintaining the security of our property and the prevention of an entry by unauthorized personnel.Residential buildings are locked by the resident directors, or by their assistants at the posted hours. After the curfew hour, persons can gain entrance to these halls only through security personnel, by presenting sufficient identification. Each resident is issued an individual room key for their internal safety. Routine patrols are provided to ensure that the outer doors remain locked.
Campus roads are blocked off to general public access at 8:00 PM each evening. At that time each person entering or departing are subject to security checks, for valid identification, their destination or any other information deemed important by our college.
Responsibility
The ultimate responsibility for personal safety is with the individual! Each person should be aware of their surroundings and the potential risk to their personal safety. You should exercise caution and be able to take reasonable actions in order to protect yourself:- Do not walk or jog alone, especially after dark
- Stay in well lighted areas
- Keep your room secured
- Know your building evacuation procedures
- Know how to contact the proper authorities
- Report suspicious activities
Remember that propping open a door in your residence hall may assist your friend, but it could result in an unwanted visitor gaining access to the building. Don’t compromise your safety for convenience. To be effective, security MUST be consistent. It might mean an inconvenience for you, but remember what is at stake. It might be your possessions, your safety, or your best friends safety. Propping open doors defeats the efforts of keeping the resident hall safe and compromises everyone’s security.
Your safety requires maturity on your behalf. Because our security officers can not be everywhere at the same time, we need your help. Be willing to share in the responsibility for the safety of everyone in your residence. We are only as secure as you enable us to be.
Awareness—On and Off Campus
While you are out walking:
- Walk with confidence, aware of your surroundings, and never alone
- Avoid unlighted areas
- Vary your routes
- Pay attention to cars that pass more than once, or those that pull along side
- Listen for other footsteps or voices
While you are driving:
- Keep your doors locked
- If possible keep your windows up
- When approaching your vehicle, keep your keys in your hand
- Check the inside of your vehicle before entering
- Park in a well lighted area
- If possible take a friend with you
- Make sure you have enough gas to reach your destination
- A cellular phone might be a good investment.
Escort Service
Upon request we will provide an escort service by our Security Officers. This service is provided after the normal curfew hours, and is based upon availability - Unless it is an emergency this service will normally consist of walking you from your parking lot to your residence.
Harrassing Phone Calls
This is a crime and the following are suggestions:
Never give your phone number to someone who states that they have dialed the wrong number. Ask them what number they have called, and inform them that they have reached the wrong number or person
- Hang up immediately, do not try to play detective, or panic. You might encourage the caller to call again.
- If you receive several calls you should keep a record of the times and dates and what the caller said
- Report it to the security department and student affairs within a reasonable period of time
- If you are receiving messages, try to save them
Fire
Once a semester an unannounced fire drill will be staged in each of the residences. You should treat this as if it were a real event. Make yourself aware of where the fire alarms are located. Are there fire extinguishers, where are the nearest exits, and what is the correct procedure for evacuation? These could save your life in the event of a fire in your residence.
System I.D.
This is an important step that you can take to help prevent a theft from ever occurring and is essential for recovery in the event that some of your possessions do turn up missing.
The Security Department can provide an engraver for you to use, marking your valuables with your own social security number, or any other identifying mark you wish to use. We will also provide a Personal Property pamphlet for you to record your possessions. It would be beneficial to keep it up to date and located in a safe location, maybe at your permanent residence. We would also encourage you to mark your clothing either by permanent marker, or by a tag sewn within the garment.
Suggestions for you would include keeping serial numbers, model numbers, brand names, colors, sizes, descriptions, and receipts.
Bicycles
Locking your bicycle in an area designated for them is important, as is marking them with an identifying mark or number. Bicycles should be registered with the security department.
Reporting
Any incident involving suspected criminal activity or violations of our college rules relating to safety and security of persons or property should be reported to the security department. We will maintain records of these reported incidents which occur on our campus.