Nicholls was recognized as one of the top ten safest universities by stateuniversity.com for the second year in a row.
The FBI and the Department of Education get statistics from all the university police departments and post the statistics online. Then, the state of university colleges looks and compares the criminal statistics of all colleges in Louisiana to see which college is the safest, recognizing Nicholls as sixth out of 44 colleges.
Craig Jacuzzo, Chief of Nicholls Police Department for ten years, said, “We are number six, but truly we [are] not number six. Truly, we are number one. When looking at a four-year institution that has a residence base and a twenty-four hour, seven days a week responsibility of providing safety and security forces in law enforcement. The colleges that were ranked one through five were commuter based colleges, or they do not have full components of a university setting.”
Out of the ten years Jacuzzo has been at Nicholls, the university has been recognized eight years, and this is the second year consecutively to be recognized in the top ten as the safest university. Due to the budget cuts that Nicholls has been experiencing, a few officers were released from their positions. The short-handed police department staff has still kept Nicholls safe.
Police officers on campus are required to maintain all training requirements in order to stay an officer. The police department also takes part in weekly mock trainings to learn how to prepare for certain situations that can take place at Nicholls. The officers are also trained on what actions need to take place at certain events such as football games, graduation, etc.
Jacuzzo reiterated that every one of the staff members takes their jobs seriously and that they are just not “security guards.” The Nicholls Police officers are official deputies. They carry full arrest capabilities throughout the university.  
Around campus there are roughly 50 emergency call stations that are used for emergency purposes. The University invested $4,500 a piece into this equipment for the safety of all the students. When an emergency call station is set off, the Nicholls Police Department is notified of the call station’s location, and it dispatches the officer on duty and an officer inside the department’s building. The lights on the station will go off to help the police officer find the booth. The emergency call stations are set up directly where a lot of students walk, so the University can make sure the campus is as safe as possible. The emergency stations are used about ten to fifteen times monthly.
Senior accounting major, Dylan Dufrene, said he feels he has the right resources if he needs help.
“If threatened, I do feel that I have the right resources to receive help from the campus police patrolling the area. I can also call the police station here on campus for assistance as well as the multiple call stations located around campus. I’ve personally seen them being tested, so knowing they actually work helps bring some peace of mind.”
One thing that Jacuzzo wanted to expand for the safety of Nicholls is the video cameras around campus. The video cameras help to see what actions take place, who is in the wrong of certain situations and who is liable for the actions.
“If the man power of the police department was increased by adding an investigator and field officers and the funding of these things were given, … this campus [would be] safer,” said Jacuzzo.
The officers will continue working hard while trying to ensure that Nicholls remains as safe as possible.