Community Collaborations and Engagement
Green Screen
2025 brought with it a unique opportunity to collaborate with a broad cross-spectrum of interested groups on a project to enhance the resource availability and response to concerns around drink spiking. CUPD, in partnership with Clemson City Police, the Panhellenic Council, Student Health Services, Prisma and the non-profit organization SASS GO, launched an initiative to bring the SASS GO’s Green Screen Kits to the Clemson community.
These kits support law enforcement chain of custody in evidence sample collection for reports of suspected drugging offenses, such as drink spiking and provide resource information for reporting survivors to support their needs after making the report to law enforcement.
This project would not have been successful without the incredible partnership from Clemson’s Panhellenic Council, who raised the funds to purchase these kits for distribution to CUPD, Clemson City Police, Redfern Health Center and Prisma Oconee and Easley Hospitals.
Safety Pledge
CUPD launched a brand-new initiative in 2025 called the Safety Pledge, which was conducted during August and September to coincide with the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer safety campaign. The Safety Pledge is designed to encourage the community to take a safety-conscious approach and be mindful in their choices by committing to the following pledge:
- Never drink and drive
- Always choose a safe way home
- Stand up for your fellow Tigers
- Be a voice for safety and responsibility
- Reject hazing in all forms
The Safety Pledge saw great participation in its first year and through the generous contributions of Clemson Football was able to provide a random prize drawing for one student and one employee who signed up, along with a student organization with the most commitments to the pledge. Congratulations to the Clemson Sailing Club!
Public Safety Citizens Academy
Our Public Safety Citizens Academies are a cornerstone to building and sustaining strong community relationships. In 2025, Clemson University Public Safety delivered two in-person cohorts (Spring and Fall) each completing eight sessions gaining valuable insight into public safety operations. Attendees included Clemson University students, faculty, and staff members.
Participants gained hands-on experience and insights into various aspects of public safety, learning about Fire/EMS and 911 Dispatch, Physical Security, Emergency Management, legal concepts such as search and seizure, objective reasonableness, and proportionality, training in de-escalation, the duty to intervene, traffic stops, virtual de-escalation training simulator, fingerprinting techniques and CPR training. Campus partners presented a variety of topics such as bystander intervention, Title IX, and Student Conduct.
Internship Opportunities
CUPD is dedicated to fostering talent through our ongoing collaboration with Clemson University’s UPIC (University Professional Internship and Co-op) program, where we continue to host and mentor interns. Most interns are enrolled in Criminal Justice or related fields and their hands-on experience with CUPD adds significant value to both their academic pursuits and practical knowledge.
The Clemson University Police Department regularly receives and welcomes internship requests from students eager to gain experience in various areas of law enforcement. These internships offer valuable hands-on opportunities and a deeper understanding of police operations. CUPD strives to ensure that interns are equipped with valuable skills and a broad range of experiences to benefit their future career pursuits.
RAD Self-Defense Training
CUPD provides RAD self-defense training for the campus community to empower participants through education and awareness. Participants learn about risk reduction strategies and situational awareness and the dynamics of sexual violence.
RAD training emphasized leveraging body mechanics, simple movements, and practical techniques to help participants effectively respond to and escape physical threats. CUPD maintains an active roster of classroom and simulation instructors, which strengthens the effectiveness of training and supports the delivery of training programs throughout the year.
Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run
In 2025, CUPD conducted its second annual Polar Plunge in partnership with the Law Enforcement Torch Run supporting Special Olympics in South Carolina. This partnership with multiple campus organizations and other first responder agencies raised more than $25,000 to support this worthy cause.
Community Crisis Preparedness
CUPD is actively engaged in the important work of community crisis preparedness training and awareness through the delivery of active threat preparedness based on the nationally supported programming models. Programs are delivered through a tailored approach for any department, group, or organization at Clemson University and facilitated by sworn personnel from CUPD who are trained and certified to deliver community preparedness for active threat/targeted violence incidents. The course is free to all participants and provides an interactive lecture-style approach to understanding the key actions to take in the “Avoid, Deny, Defend” model to enhance individual and group safety.
In 2025, CUPD personnel delivered 40 of these training programs, representing over 80 hours of community preparedness training.
Additionally, staff from CUPD and Clemson University Fire and EMS deliver training for the American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed program. Stop the Bleed, which provides bystander training on what to do in response to traumatic injury, supports education and practical understanding of how to utilize the tools contained in mass casualty/trauma kits located across the campus and empower members of the Clemson University community to engage in active bystandership for traumatic injury situations.
