Binghamton University and City police agencies team up to help off-campus students

A crime-prevention partnership between Binghamton University and the City of Binghamton is already producing results.

The collaboration between the New York State University Police at Binghamton, the Binghamton Police Department, Off-Campus College (OCC), and the Southern Tier Crime Analysis Center (STCAC) is credited with reducing burglaries affecting Binghamton University students living in the city.

During the 2024-25 winter break, Binghamton University saw a spike in burglaries to students in housing in the City of Binghamton, with 36 being reported by students to the Binghamton Police Department.

As the 2025-26 winter break drew closer, the agencies came together to address the matter.

“One of the key things to stress is the role of the Southern Tier Crime Analysis Center and how it’s made it easier to build partnerships with other agencies,” said University Police Chief Matthew Rossie. “That collaboration was central to getting this done. We had a clear need, but we also had the right people in place and strong relationships. When you mix all of that together, it really makes a difference.”

According to the STCAC, they tracked only four burglaries during the break, marking an 89% decrease from last year. The Binghamton Police have made arrests in three of these cases.

“Seeing the numbers drop that dramatically was unbelievable,” said University Police Assistant Chief Patrick Reilly. “It shows that collaboration works, especially when the university and the city are working together. At the end of the day, we were able to prevent students from being victimized. That’s what this was all about.”

This success is being attributed in part to a crime prevention flier created by the Off-Campus Programs and Services Office with the help of the University Police. The flier was distributed to off-campus students through the November OCC newsletter and by email.

The Binghamton Police Department Community Response Team also went door to door, visiting student housing to educate students about crime prevention. During the visits, police shared copies of the flier and shared tips with the students on how they can better protect their belongings while they’re away.

“A huge part of this was having direct access to our off-campus students,” said University Police Investigator Joseph Gallagher. “We can put information online, but you never know how many people are actually reading it. The Community Response Team went door to door and addressed issues ahead of time, before they became bigger problems. That face-to-face approach was a game changer.”

The STCAC also gave valuable information to Binghamton Police, who did property checks around student housing during the break. This information identified hotspot locations that had been targeted for burglaries last year.

Rossie said the collaboration will be important again soon.

“A lot of students are leaving town for spring break, and that creates opportunity if we’re not proactive,” he said. “The coordination between the Crime Analysis Center and the Community Response Team gave us a viable way to address it before it became a problem. Instead of reacting after the break, we were able to get ahead of it.”