Department of Public Safety

All students and employees are issued an identification badge, which they are required to wear at all times.

Visitors and out-patients are required to sign in at all times on Saturdays and Sundays and at specific locations between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., Monday through Friday. Entry to campus facilities, other than authorized visitors/guests, is restricted unless clearance has been granted by individual administrators or by the Department of Public Safety.

Visitors must check in at a security desk before going to their destination. Each visitor will receive a visitor's ID badge, which must be affixed to outer clothing and visible. Security desks are located:

• PCOM (Philadelphia) - Rowland Hall
• PCOM Georgia - Main lobby of either the Northlake Drive building or Old Peachtree building
• PCOM South Georgia - Main lobby

Students and employees may call campus security at any time and request escort transportation service from any campus building to another building or the parking areas. To request security escort services at PCOM's locations, call security directly and an officer will come to your location as soon as possible.

PCOM (Philadelphia, PA)
215-871-6351

PCOM Georgia (Suwanee, GA)
678-225-7451

PCOM South Georgia (Moultrie, GA)
229-668-3290

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine has implemented an emergency notification system (P.E.N.S.) that will inform students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency through phone text-messaging or email.

About P.E.N.S.

The system uses e2Campus, a web-based, mass notification system that allows College administrators to send text alerts and emails instantly and simultaneously to students, faculty and staff.

Providing this information is the best way to ensure that you will be reached in the event of an emergency. If you haven't registered, please take a few minutes now to register or update your contact information.

Create or update your account

Login to myPCOM and scroll down to the P.E.N.S. section to view instructions and the link to update your P.E.N.S. account information.

Reporting crimes

In the event of a crime, students are strongly encouraged to contact PCOM's Department of Public Safety or, in extreme cases, to directly contact the local police department.

PCOM's Department of Public Safety records all reported crimes that occur on campus. As required by the College and University Security Act of Pennsylvania, the College submits a crime report annually to the state police.

Reporting missing persons

If a member of the College community has reason to believe that a student is missing, contact the Department of Public Safety immediately.

Additional resources

• Pennsylvania Sex Offender Registry
• Georgia Sex Offender Registry

The Department of Public Safety is located in:

• Rowland Hall on our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania campus (PCOM).
• The front desk at our Suwanee, Georgia campus (PCOM Georgia).
• The front desk at our Moultrie, Georgia location (PCOM South Georgia).

The Director of Public Safety is responsible for departmental administration and reports directly to the Chief Occupational and Environmental Safety Officer.

PCOM and PCOM Georgia each maintain a complement of in-house security personnel in conjunction with trained contract security personnel. PCOM South Georgia is staffed by trained contract security personnel.

Contract supervisors and officers are required to receive instruction, approved by the Director of Public Safety, in the areas of legal authority, liability issues, fire prevention and control, evacuation procedures, investigation and departmental procedures prior to their assignment to campus.

Fire and safety checks

Security patrol rounds are made around our campuses multiple times each day and logs/records are kept within each building.

Law enforcement

Security personnel do not have arrest powers, but consult with police authorities when arrests are warranted. The Department of Public Safety works with local law enforcement authorities to gather information on criminal activity and to assess potential risks that may exist on or near each campus. Perpetrators are reported accordingly.

Criminal activities and emergency situations are to be reported to the Department of Public Safety when they are observed. Criminal activities will be investigated, and local law enforcement authorities will be notified as necessary.

Department of Public Safety personnel are not permitted to carry lethal or nonlethal weapons while on duty. Only appropriate government law officers are permitted to enter the campus armed.

Founded in 1899, PCOM has been located at six campus sites from Center City Philadelphia westward. The present location, 4170 City Avenue, has been the home of our Pennsylvania campus since 1968. In 2004, PCOM Georgia, located at 625 Old Peachtree Road in Suwanee, Georgia, was established. A third location—PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie, Georgia—opened in 2019.

Three Philadelphia healthcare centers are protected by a staff of security personnel and electronic surveillance. Staffed posts throughout each campus ensure 24-hour protection. In addition, the College conducts fire drills as part of its public safety responsibilities.

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, in compliance with the federal Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act of 1990, is pleased to provide security information to individuals requesting such information at our Pennsylvania and Georgia locations. The Department of Public Safety maintains a daily log of all reported crimes as well as reported fires.