About The University Police

The WCU Police Department provides a full range of law enforcement services for the university community. WCU PD works towards building partnerships with the university community to provide a safe environment to achieve our academic mission.

We are a year-round agency, available 24 hours a day. All of our police officers are certified by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and meet the Attorney General’s standards for law enforcement officers. We provide the same level of service offered by a municipal police department, as well as other services unique to an academic institution.

WCU PD may be contacted at 828-227-7301 (non-emergency) or 828-227-8911 (emergency) for information or requests for services. 

Jurisdiction and Mutual Aid Agreements

The Western Carolina University Police maintains a cooperative relationship with the surrounding police agencies. This is very beneficial since our calls for service can lead to follow-ups outside of WCU’s jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is the geographical area in which a law enforcement agency has the authority to conduct investigations and make arrests. Because of jurisdictional restrictions amongst all law enforcement agencies, North Carolina General Statutes §90-95.2 and §160A-288 permits the head of any law enforcement agency to enter an agreement with the head of another law enforcement agency to temporarily provide assistance in enforcing the laws of North Carolina.

In the event of a law enforcement emergency, the Western Carolina University Police Department has entered into mutual aid agreements with the following law enforcement agencies:

• Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
• Sylva Police Department
• Macon County Sheriff’s Department
• Appalachian State University Police Department

Although WCU PD does not have mutual aid agreements with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, we still work closely with these agencies to ensure the safety of the WCU community.

Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Western Carolina University has an agreement with the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department for the provision of fire and emergency medical services. Western Carolina University operates its own student-managed Emergency Medical Service program. The student Emergency Medical Technicians are supplemented by the Harris Regional Hospital Emergency Medical Services staff.

Mission Statement

Mission and Vision

Our mission is to provide professional community-oriented police service. We are committed to creating and maintaining an active community partnership and assisting the community in identifying and solving problems to improve the quality of lives on our campus. We are dedicated to protecting life, property, and maintaining order while

assuring fair and equal treatment to everyone. We respect the cultural and ethnic diversity of our University.

Vision

The WCU Police Department is a proactive police agency dedicated to excellence through quality community service. We ensure quality community service through accountability to each other and the citizens, who are the source of our authority. We maintain the quality professionalism of employees through training, development, and education for personal and professional growth with a constant emphasis on innovation and improvement.

Values

We are capable, caring people doing important and satisfying work for the citizens of our community. Therefore, we respect, care about, trust and support each other. We enjoy our work and take pride in our accomplishments. We are disciplined and reliable. We keep our perspective and sense of humor.

We balance our professional and personal lives. We involve our community in decisions that we make. We have a positive, can-do attitude. We cultivate our best characteristics: initiative, enthusiasm, creativity, patience, competence, and judgment. We do nothing to discredit or dishonor ourselves or our department.