About The UC Davis Police Department
Established on the Davis campus in 1947, our police department is a full service state police agency that provides patrol, investigative, emergency management and crime prevention services on the main campus in Davis and at the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento. Our jurisdiction extends one mile around the campus and the medical center boundaries and to all facilities that are administered by UC Davis. Our main building is on the Davis campus and we have a substation at the Health System campus in Sacramento. UCDPD currently has 48 sworn officers, 28 professional staff and 130 student employees. The UC Davis Police Department services a population of approximately 64,535 community members.
UCDPD has six divisions commanded by either a Lieutenant or Civilian Director that report directly to the Chief of Police. These include the Aggie Host Security Director, The Campus Security Director, the Sacramento Campus Patrol Lieutenant, the Davis Campus Patrol Lieutenant, the Professional Standards Lieutenant and the Administrative and Support Services Director.
The UC Davis Police Department Is A Model Law Enforcement Agency
The mission of the UC Davis Police Department is to provide for a safe and secure environment with a focus on serving the needs of our students. The success of our police department is dependent upon the community collaborations we have formed with our students, faculty and staff. The following programs demonstrate our commitment to true community style policing which includes our commitment to safety and security. More information about our department can be found at police.ucdavis.edu.
Student Advisory Council to the Chief of Police
Once a month the Chief invites graduate and undergraduate students into the UC Davis Police Department to build a strong bond between the police and the community. This once a month informal pizza night with the chief of police gives our students the opportunity to share concerns, provide feedback and be a true part of campus safety and security. Our chief of police is available during and after business hours to our UC Davis students, parents and care givers. For more information please visit our website.
Patrol Division
Highly trained and highly skilled UC Davis police officers patrol the Davis and Sacramento campuses 24/7 on foot, bicycle, vehicle and motorcycle. The patrol officers focus on safety and security while being fully accessible to our students as a resource when needed. Patrol staff also provide support for special events on campus and fulfill all local and system wide mutual aid requests.
Outreach
Our outreach unit is part of the patrol division. Although, UCDPD believes that all members of the department participate in outreach, two officers selected by members of the campus community are assigned to this unit. The primary goal of this unit is to REACH OUT! This Unit meets with members of the campus community on a regular basis to help problem solve and collaborate on special projects. This Unit is also responsible for managing the Police Community Academy and the Police Cadet Program. The Outreach Unit also provides various crime prevention presentations and supports or creates various community building events such as Active Shooter Workshop and community self-defense training.
UC Davis Police Cadet Program
The UC Davis Police Cadet Program, which is unique in the U.S. is a great opportunity for UC Davis seniors and graduate students interested in law enforcement, forensics, criminology and other law enforcement related professions. The program trains and recruits police officers who have been graduates of UC Davis. Many students have gone on to begin careers as police officers throughout the state and six are currently employed as officers with the UC Davis Police Department. The Cadet Program is on a path to building a true community based police department and equally important is providing access to diverse highly educated police officer candidates. For more information, visit the Cadet Program website.
Professional Standards Division
The professional standards division is responsible for investigations, policy, internal affairs and training.
The Professional Standards Unit conducts internal investigations assigned by the Chief of Police and provides data to the UC Davis Compliance Office in support of the civilian complaint process and the Police Accountably Board(PAB). This unit is also responsible for numerous reports dealing with police activities. The Professional Standards Unit maintains department policy and is the lead for various internal workgroups.
Investigations
The UC Davis Police Department Investigations unit has the responsibility for investigating felony and misdemeanor crimes occurring on both the Davis and Sacramento campuses. Personnel assigned to the unit work closely with allied agencies to identify criminal suspects and crime trends. The unit is comprised of three investigators and one sergeant. The Davis Campus investigator is also responsible for the Sex Offender Registrant Program and works closely with the Department of Justice and the local District Attorney. The Sacramento Campus investigator concentrates on violence against women and sexual assaults that occur on both the campus and medical center.
Aggie Host Security and Protective Service Officer
Public safety services are also provided to the campus through programs such as the Aggie Host Security Service (AHS) and the Protective Service Officer Program (PSO). AHS Officers are non-sworn, student security personnel who, upon completion of a background check and specialized introductory and ongoing training with the UC Davis Police Department, facilitate assistance in the areas of Safe Ride Services, special event security, fire watch, critical facility security checks, campus student patrol and site surveillance. PSO’s are non-sworn staff Security Officers responsible for protecting specific facilities such as the UC Davis California National Primate Research Center and the new Shrem Museum which opened in 2016.
Safe Rides
Safe Rides is the flagship student safety program for the UC Davis Police Department. The Safe Rides service is operated through our Aggie Host Student Security Program which employs 130 students annually. Safe Rides provides our students a safe ride on campus after hours and when local transit lines stop running at night we provide our students a ride home from campus to anywhere in the City of Davis. And for our VIP students we provide a full wheel chair accessible vehicle 24/7. Currently, we deploy up to six vans each night every day of the week to support our students and ten vans during peak days of the week. This program is averaging six thousand student rides per month when school is in session. For more information about this unique program please visit the Safe Rides website. The UC Davis Police Department also supports the ASUCD student run “Tipsy Taxi” service. For more information, please visit the Tipsy Taxi website.
Administrative and Support Services Division
This division is responsible for records, live scan services, property and evidence, lost and found, 9-1-1 public safety dispatch center, information technology, CLERY compliance, human resources, fleet, building maintenance and access control.
9-1-1 Public Safety Communications Center
The University of California, Davis Police Department Communications Center is an authorized 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point. The Communications Center is staffed with a minimum of two dispatchers twenty-four (24) hours a day seven days a week.
The Communications Center exists for the purpose of providing an efficient communications system between university emergency services, students, faculty, staff, patients, other agencies and the public at large. University emergency services includes Police, Fire, Facilities Departments and after hours’ general campus information services. Public Safety Dispatchers are responsible for dispatching both emergency and non-emergency personnel and appropriate resources as required to ensure the community receives the best possible service in a timely manner.
The Communications Center receives and monitors several types of alarms including direct alarms for local area police and fire accounts on the UC Davis campus and at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. We also monitor police and fire accounts located out of the area or in another agency’s jurisdiction.
In 2016 the Communications Center handled 56,975 calls for emergency and non-emergency service.
Conclusion
While this reports highlights some of the programs at the UC Davis Police Department it in no way captures all of the services offered by our department. We encourage you to visit our police department website to find out about the rest of our new and exciting programs. In closing, we are committed as a team in providing the safest campus possible where you can visit, learn, live and play.