Public Safety

The Department of Public Safety is located in Burns Hall

One of the primary objectives of the College is to provide a safe and healthy environment that enhances the learning experience and complements the College’s educational mission. As an integral part of the northwest Arkansas community, NWACC shares many of the same crime and security challenges as the counties and cities in our area.

While the College has been fortunate in not experiencing excessive criminal activity, students, faculty and staff should exercise reasonable care to avoid becoming a victim of crime. There is always the possibility of a criminal act against a member of the NWACC community despite the best efforts of the administrative and public safety staff. The safest environment can only be achieved through the cooperative efforts of staff, faculty, and students working together.

If you have received a parking violation and wish to appeal the ticket, please click here for the Parking Violation Appeal Form.

Law Enforcement Authority and Responsibility

The College Police Department is staffed with both commissioned Police Officers and with noncommissioned Security Guards. Noncommissioned personnel are agents of the college, and are identified by a college-issue identification card and by their attire, which includes the word "Security" on the left front area of the issue shirt.

The Director of the College Police Department and its police officers are duly commissioned law enforcement personnel whose police authority is derived from Arkansas State Statute # 25-17-304 which provides them with the same powers as any municipal, county, or State police agency in Arkansas. This includes powers of arrest. College police personnel work cooperatively with area law enforcement agencies in providing police services to NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

As the primary law enforcement agent for the college, it is the Director's responsibility to report and investigate all crimes occurring on college-owned or controlled properties, as well as provide for public safety and security in and on those properties.

Crimes or Emergencies on Campus

Emergencies: In any emergency dial 9-1-1. If you are dialing from a college-system telephone, dialing 9-1-1 will automatically connect you to the 9-1-1 operator. You do NOT have to dial 9-9-1-1. After completing your call to the 9-1-1 operator, you should immediately contact the College Police Department (619-4229) to inform the on-duty personnel of the emergency.

Crimes: All crimes of whatever nature should be initially reported to the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Police Department. The College Police Department can be contacted by telephone, by e-mail, or in person. Telephone contact should be made by dialing 619-4229 (on-campus, simply dial 4229). Persons desiring to make personal contact should come to the Police Department office in Burns Hall, Office #1020.

Sexual Assault PolicyIt is the policy of the NorthWest Arkansas Community College to prohibit and prevent sexual assault as well as all other sex offenses committed against students, employees, visitors, and any other persons who may be using College facilities. Sexual assault is an extreme form of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is prohibited by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. Sexual assault is also a crime as defined by the Arkansas Criminal Code.If you are the victim of a sexual assault, or any form of sexual harassment, it is vital that you report the circumstances to the College Police Department as promptly as possible. If the incident occurred off College property, the College Police Department will assist you in contacting the appropriate authorities to file your report. You may, however, choose to report the incident to a non-law-enforcement entity such as your clergy person, a friend, an area rape crisis agency, or a doctor. These reports will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency for further investigation. The primary concern is for the well being of the victim, and for immediate medical attention.

Unauthorized firearms and other dangerous weapons of any kind are not permitted in or around College facilities.

Crime Statisctics

 A = On Campus: Offenses or arrests that occurred on property owned or controlled by the College and used for educational purposes, and/or property owned or controlled (long-term) by a recognized student organization and reported to the College Police Department.
B = Off Campus: Offenses or arrests that occurred on property owned or controlled by the College and used for unrelated purposes, or where such control was short-term and where the offense was reported to either the College Police Department of local officials.
C = College Officials: Offenses reported to College officials other than the College Police Department and not investigated by the College Police Department.
D = Hate Crimes: Offenses listed under A, B, and C that meet the definition of hate crime as defined in the "Hate Crimes Statistics Act".

Your Right to Know:

Your personal safety, and the security of the campus community are of vital concern to NorthWest Arkansas Community College. A copy of the college's annual security report is available upon request. This report includes statistics for the most recent three-year period concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by NorthWest Arkansas Community College, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. The report also includes information regarding the law enforcement authority of the college police, policies concerning campus security such as crime prevention, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual assault, obtaining the name(s) of any registered sex offender who may be employed by, or be a student at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, and the reporting of any crimes which may occur on the campus. You can obtain a copy of this report by contacting the College Police Department, Burns Hall 1020, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, One College Drive, Bentonville, AR., 72712. This information is also on file along with the data from other institutions of higher education at http://ope.ed.gov/security

For questions or comments, please contact Richard Nelson