Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.— Mississippi State University Police is offering a new service that will provide a quick and simple means for faculty, staff, students and the general public to communicate with the department via text message in non-emergency situations.
MSU Chief of Police Vance Rice said in addition to calling the department at 662-325-2121, individuals may now text the same phone number at any time for non-emergency services.
“Texting the police is not a replacement to calling 911 in an emergency; 911 should still be called when seconds count,” Rice emphasized. “Voice communication allows for more details to be relayed faster than text does and provides a faster, proper response from emergency services.”
“However, we understand there may be circumstances when voice communication could place someone in more danger. In times like these, texting the police is certainly an option,” Rice added.
Rice said texting false information will be dealt with in the same manner as reporting false information via telephone.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.