Campus Safety
Our security officers and employees are committed to keeping Southeastern’s campus safe and protecting and serving students, faculty and staff with excellence. Among the tools and systems that the department uses are the following:
- Text alert system:
Southeastern University’s phone text messaging system is used to inform and instruct you during emergencies. “Emergencies” include imminent hurricanes, intruders on campus or other dangerous situations. Note: If you have already signed up using the website, you will need to log into your SEU Alerts Account to update your information. To sign up with your phone:- Students: Click here to sign up!
- Parents: Text #SEUParents to 863-213-3613
- Employees: Click here to sign up!
- Click here for instructions on how to navigate this website or download and use the mobile app to update your information!
- 24-hour travel-with-a-guard service: Students can call from any place on campus to get a ride to a destination.
- 24-hour patrol of campus: Security officers patrol and inspect campus areas around the clock. The department uses an electronic system to verify that patrols have been carried out in a thorough manner.
- Closed-circuit security cameras: Closed-circuit television cameras are strategically located throughout campus and consistently monitored.
- 24-hour staffing at the main entrance: Students, staff and faculty members, and visitors must check in with a security officer at Southeastern’s main entrance to enter campus after dark.
- Relationships with local law enforcement agencies: The Lakeland Police Department supports Southeastern’s Safety and Security Department by visiting campus and monitoring the neighborhood surrounding Southeastern. We have full-time Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Staff currently on our campus.
- 911 alert system: A computer system immediately notifies the Safety and Security Department when someone makes a 911 call from a landline on campus.
Learn More
How well do you pay attention to your surroundings? Test yourself with the See-Something-Say-Something Challenge from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Did you know? Lakeland, Florida was ranked #5 by U.S. News & World Report as one of the safest places to live in the nation.
(2023–24 statistics)
Crime Statistics
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act as well as the Higher Education Opportunity Act require that all postsecondary institutions compile information regarding certain crimes on campus and specific policies related to campus safety and security. This act also requires this information be provided to all students, all employees and, upon request, all who have applied for admission.
Southeastern University reports crime statistics to the federal registry annually.
Annual Security & Fire Safety Reports
2024-2025
2023–2024
2022–2023
2021–2022
2020–2021
2019–2020
Crime and Fire Logs
A daily crime and fire log is maintained by the Safety and Security Department and is available for public viewing upon request. The crime log records specific information regarding criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents that have occurred on SEU property or on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus and that have been reported to the SEU Safety and Security Department. The daily fire log records specific information regarding any fires that have occurred in an SEU on-campus student housing facility. The logs can be viewed at any time at the Safety and Security Department’s main post, located at the campus entrance on Prima Vista, or Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at security headquarters.
To view the daily crime log, please click here.
Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act
The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act went into effect October 28, 2002. The law requires our institution to issue a statement advising the campus community where law enforcement agency information concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained. It also requires sex offenders, already required to register in a state, to provide notice of each institution of higher education in that state where the person is employed, carries on in a vocation, or is a student. The website address for securing the related information is www.fdle.state.fl.us.
Emergency Information
Polk County Emergency Management
(Includes preparation information for various disasters and hurricanes, as well as public safety notifications.)
Hurricane Safety at SEU
As with any area of the country, Florida also has its share of occasional weather events — namely, tropical systems (hurricanes and tropical storms).
We have detailed procedures in place to ensure that our students remain safe in the event that impact from a tropical system is expected. These procedures and updates are communicated regularly before, during, and after these weather events via email, our text alert system, website, and social media. The Southeastern Emergency Response Team (SERT) is operated in partnership with our on-campus police officers from the PCSO.
In the event that students must shelter-in-place during a storm, members of the PCSO operate a command station on campus to ensure the continued safety of our students.
(Note: SEU is not considered to be in a flood zone and does not usually require off-campus evacuation. Storm damage is rare and generally minimal if it occurs.)
