From the day your children arrived in your life, your number one responsibility has been to keep them safe. Now that your student is learning on a diverse campus and living in a large metropolitan city, personal safety has become their responsibility.
Under the direction of President Hartzell, campus leadership continues to make safety a top priority as they strive to make the University of Texas at Austin the best possible place for learning, living and working. The student body leadership has worked hand in hand with the university administration to create a culture of safety awareness that helps students understand the crucial role they play in their own safety, as well as that of others.
Students are encouraged to follow three key behaviors ensure their personal safety:
- Don’t walk alone, especially at night. If walking with friends is not achievable, the university offers two safe walk or travel options: SURE Walk and UT Night Rides.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Call 911 anytime you feel unsafe. UTPD also offers a free safety app called LiveSafe at UT Austin allowing users to instantly text 911 dispatch and submit photos and videos if calling is not an option.
These messages make students aware of the resources available to help them, and creates a foundation of safe practices to build upon. Our hope is that all Longhorns utilize these outside-the-classroom lessons of personal safety beyond their years on the Forty Acres.
With a unified message from parents/families and the UT community, the message of personal safety responsibility will resonate with students. We encourage you to talk to your student about personal safety and point him or her to the many safety resources on campus.
We urge you to become familiar with the resources on the university’s Campus Life, Safety & Mental Health page as well as those that you find below.
Emergency Communications
In the event of an emergency situation or campus closure, UT Austin has a variety of tools to communicate with the public. Emergency information is posted on the UT Austin home page as well as the university’s Emergency website. The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) also communicates emergency and safety information via their Facebook and Twitter pages. Follow UTPD on social media to stay informed.
We also encourage you to confirm with your student that he or she is signed up for the campus text alert system, a key communication tool used during emergencies. Only UT students, faculty and staff may sign up for this system; parents/families cannot receive text alerts as this would overload the system and cause delays in delivering crucial information to those that it most directly impacts.
Emergency Contact Numbers
Social Media Accounts
Healthyhorns Facebook
Healthyhorns represents the Longhorn Wellness Center, Counseling and Mental Health Center, and University Health Services at UT Austin.
Healthyhorns Twitter
Healthyhorns represents the Longhorn Wellness Center, Counseling and Mental Health Center, and University Health Services at UT Austin.
Safety & Security Resources
Campus Safety & Security
A collection of UT Austin campus safety and security resources with contact information for each department.
University of Texas Police Department (UTPD)
UTPD is a fully-functioning, accredited state police agency with more than 100 sworn officers serving the UT community 24 hours a day.
Crime Prevention Tips
Tips to help your student prevent crime.
Personal Safety Tips
Encourage your student to follow these personal safety tips.
Rape Aggression Defense System (RAD)
A free, on-campus program for women to learn realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques.
Theft Prevention
Theft is the most common crime on college campuses. UTPD encourages your student to prevent crime by taking preventative actions.
Property Engraving
To protect valuables, UTPD recommends your student marks their property with their state-issued driver’s license number.
Campus Watch
Campus Watch is a free email that presents selected information about recent crimes reported to or observed by UTPD in the campus area and does not represent an official crime log or compliance with any federal or state statute. Subscription required.
Clery Reports
This report is published by University Compliance Services. These statistics represent a compilation of crime statistics from numerous campus security authorities, not just the University of Texas Police Department.
Incident Notifications
UTPD releases timely warnings about reported crimes to the campus community in a manner that will aid in the prevention of similar crimes, as well as providing emergency notifications when the health and safety of the campus community is at risk.
Campus Carry
Learn more information about Campus Carry at UT Austin.
Global Risk and Safety
Located in Texas Global, Global Risk and Safety monitors worldwide travel conditions, provides emergency support and offers resources on official university travel, including study abroad.
Off-Campus Safety
Off-Campus Living Resources
A website that provides resources, programming and community for UT students living off campus.
Meet Your Officers (District Map)
UTPD launched a program that assigns an officer to a particular area, including some areas off campus. Using the district map, you can identify and contact your district officer representative for non-emergencies.
APD District Representatives
Similar to the UTPD district representative program, APD has officers assigned to specific areas in Austin. Each officer is dedicated to serving their assigned community, so reach out to your representative for non-emergency issues.
UT Night Rides
Students can request free Lyft rides home from campus late at night.
SURE Walk
Students can request volunteer companionship on their late night walk home.
Safety Apps
LiveSafe at UT Austin
A free mobile app giving the UT community immediate access to police dispatch via the communication tool most frequently used—text.
AustinPD
APD has partnered with Austin-based startup company MobilePD to develop this application in an effort to increase transparency and openness with the community, with the ultimate goal of increasing crime tips and reports from citizens.
Austin 311
With the Austin 3-1-1 smart phone app, students can work with city departments to make Austin the most livable city in the country. The smart phone app is equipped with several features helping students report concerns within the City of Austin.
Health & Wellness
Behavior Concerns and COVID-19 Advice Line (BCCAL)
A 24/7 advice line, providing students an opportunity to discuss their concerns about another individual's behavior. Trained staff members will assist callers in exploring available options and strategies, along with providing appropriate guidance and resource referrals.
UHS 24-Hour Nurse Advice Line
The UHS Nurse Advice Line is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Call for advice on how to care for an illness or injury at home or guidance about whether and when to see a healthcare provider.
24-Hour CMHC Crisis Line
CMHC Crisis Line is a confidential service that offers an opportunity for UT-Austin students to talk with trained counselors about urgent concerns.
Be That One (BT1) Suicide Prevention Program
BT1 addresses suicide prevention on UT's campus in a comprehensive manner by raising awareness about the issue of college student suicide.

Safety Resources
In Case of Emergency or Campus Closure
Information is posted on the UT Austin Emergency Information website. We recommend bookmarking the page for your convenience.