Welcome to NAUPD

According to Arizona Revised Statutes, the Arizona Board of Regents and the president of the Northern Arizona University are empowered to organize, provide for, and operate a police department for the Northern Arizona University (NAU).

NAU police officers are certified by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) and have the same duties and responsibilities as any peace officer in the State of Arizona. All police officers in the State of Arizona, including NAU police officers, have the authority to enforce state and federal laws within the limits imposed by the state and federal constitutions and judicial rulings.

The Northern Arizona University Police Department has primary jurisdictional responsibility for all law enforcement matters occurring within the university’s campus boundaries and other properties utilized by the university within the City of Flagstaff.

Northern Arizona University also maintains an Inter-agency Law Enforcement Agreement with the Flagstaff Police Department, Coconino County Sheriff’s Department, and Arizona Department of Public Safety for the purpose of obtaining “maximum efficiency in cooperative law enforcement operations through mutual aid and assistance within each party’s jurisdiction….”

The Northern Arizona University Police Department (NAUPD) is deeply committed to the philosophy of community policing. We have chosen community policing as the method that we use to manage our agency and provide service to our campus community.

Community policing consists of two core components, problem solving and community partnerships. Within the problem solving process we work closely with the community to clearly identify the underlying causes of crime or other problems that negatively affect the community’s safety and security. We then actively partner with the community to find and implement agreed upon solutions.

It is important to know that community policing at the NAUPD is not a program practiced by a few. It is a philosophy practiced by all department employees. It is embedded in everything we do. It can be found in our mission statement and our annual goals and objectives. It is an integral part of our hiring and promotion processes, and our recognition and appraisal systems. Community policing also allows us to focus our resources where they are needed most. It empowers our employees by encouraging creative problem solving. It results in effective long-lasting solutions to problems.

Why community policing? Because we understand that we cannot deal with crime problems by ourselves. A truly safe campus can only be realized through the cooperation and collaboration of the entire community. It must be a team effort! Community policing provides the foundation for improving our collective quality of life.