Patrol
The patrol division provides the UCSD community with a full range of police services and is overseen by the Operations Lieutenant. The division operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Prompt, thorough and professional service continues to be the hallmark of the unit. Our officers respond to a variety of incidents which include: crimes in progress, 9-1-1 calls, traffic collisions, medical aid calls and other requests for service.
Pursuant to the principles of Community Policing, we seek partnerships with various entities within our community so we can collaboratively identify and solve problems that impact the quality of life at UCSD. We continue to address quality of life issues resulting from alcohol and drug abuse such as public drunkenness, underage drinking, driving under the influence and binge drinking. Based on established partnerships, numerous students have been referred to their deans, Student Conduct, and Counseling and Psychological Services to receive the support and resources they need to address problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse.
We are continuing to partner with the San Diego City Attorney’s Office to participate in the “Neighborhood Prosecution” program. This effort examines new ways to address individuals that are not affiliated with our campus, but generate complaints and are contacted by officers on a regular basis. Some cases involve the issuance of “geographic stay away orders” as a term of probation.
Bicycle Enforcement Officer
The Bicycle Enforcement Program’s primary responsibility is to provide a resource to the campus community. The Bicycle Enforcement Officer (BEO) enforces the California Vehicle Code and University policies relating to bicycles and skateboards. Other services provided by the BEO include escorts, lock cutting services, documenting security and lighting discrepancies, citing illegally parked vehicles, as well as being extra eyes and ears for the police department.
There are volunteers who aid in bicycle related duties from identifying abandoned bikes and safe keeping of unlocked bikes, to education and enforcement.
The BEO program continues to donate abandoned bikes to non-profit, as well as campus organizations. With a focus on ensuring safe bicycle transportation and routes, while educating motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists throughout campus, the following was accomplished in 2016:
- Sharrow’s were painted on our roadways indicating the shared use of bicycles and vehicles.
- The Parking and Transportation Department made it possible to register approximately 1150 bicycles free of charge.
- The Housing, Dining and Hospitality Department purchased and installed 10 pump and fix-it bicycle stations in all residential housing areas which allows students to do simple repairs and fill their tires.
- The East Mesa Re-entry facility has received 157 abandoned bicycles from UCSD to be refurbished by inmates and then distributed to selected non-profit organizations.
- New bicycle racks were installed at Muir, Revelle, Sixth, Warren, and I-House replacing old racks.
- Spearheading a bike licensing program in cooperation with student Community Service Officers.
- Ongoing bike abatement program which saw the collection of 745 abandoned bikes during the summer of 2016
Communications
The University of California, San Diego Police Communications Division works in close partnership with the Patrol Division and is the first point of contact for the community when calling the UCSD Police Department. They are a full team of public safety dispatchers supervised by a sergeant and overseen by the Operations Lieutenant. The division operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including all holidays. The Division is also a Public Safety Answering Point responsible for accepting 9-1-1 calls as well as monitoring fire and intrusion alarms, call boxes and elevator intercoms. In addition to assisting other University departments with call taking, the Communications Division takes a functional role in the campus video surveillance system as an investigative tool, aiding in crime prevention and arrests.
Records Division
Our Records Division is staffed by four full time employees, two part time student clerks. In addition to processing reports and preparing cases for criminal and administrative adjudication, the unit is responsible for greeting visitors at the front lobby, processing found property and maintaining the evidence room. Compliance with federal, state, local and university statistical reporting requirements, including contributions to The Annual Security Report (otherwise known as the Clery Report) is handled by records personnel. Last year, we processed 1,737 cases and 1,361 traffic citations. We provided 1,394 copies of reports and signed off 83 tickets. We processed over 6467 pieces of found property and conducted 260 criminal records checks. In 2016, 175 cases were accepted through our online reporting system, which accounted for approximately 10% of the total number of reports for the year.
Specialized Services
The Specialized Services Division is a multi-faceted unit comprised of both police and civilian personnel who are supervised by a Lieutenant and four sergeants. The division consists of the Investigations Unit, Community Programs Unit, Property and Evidence, the Residential Security Officer Program and the Community Services Officer Program. Members of the Specialized Services Division provide expertise to the police department and community in areas such as work place violence, homeland security/terrorism, background investigations, auto theft, computer crimes, identity theft prevention, evidence processing and management, special events planning and special projects. They are also permanent members of the UCSD Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management Team.
Investigations Unit
The Investigations Unit is staffed by three detectives who are responsible for conducting investigations of crimes occurring on the UCSD campus. Cases involving identifiable offenders are routinely filed with the city/county prosecutor’s office for adjudication. If the offender is a UCSD student, the case may also be submitted to the Student Policies and Judicial Affairs Office for administrative disciplinary action. In 2016, in addition to evaluating 46 threat assessments, detectives evaluated and reviewed almost 1750 informational reports and crime cases.
Community Programs
Community Programs is staffed by two corporals. The unit is responsible for conducting security surveys of University buildings, community training and outreach, special event planning, recruitment, background investigations, liaison with other university and community departments and groups, and training coordination for police personnel. They also manage the Senior Volunteer Program. Last year, Behavioral Threat Assessment workshops, ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Counter and Evacuate) training and parent orientations were provided to the community.
The Police Department continues to use TipSoft, a software program that allows the community to send anonymous tips to the department via text messaging or through the internet. The tips are automatically forwarded to Investigations for review. The software allows two way communications between the tipster and the detective, while maintaining the tipster’s anonymity. Tips can be sent two different ways:
- Send a text message to “CRIMES” or 274637, and include “UCSD” at the beginning of the message
- Send a tip online by visiting: www.tipsubmit.com/webtips.aspx?agencyid=755
Residential Security Officer Program
The Residential Security Officer (RSO) program is a community partnership between the Police Department, Housing, Dining & Hospitality, and the Academic and Residence Life offices at each campus. The program is supervised by the Police Department and receives its funding and support from Housing, Dining Services. Our mission is the safety of our residents and their property.
The RSO program covers nine on-campus residential communities and three off-campus graduate and staff apartment complexes. Each RSO works closely with the residence life staff at their assigned campus to identify concerns and develop strategies to foster a sense of community and maintain a safe residential environment conducive to the educational mission. The RSOs participate in the selection and training of oncoming residential/house advisors and are often called upon to testify at Student Conduct hearings.
The RSOs generally patrol the campus between the hours of 8:00 pm and 6:00 am. Their duties include patrolling assigned areas on foot or bicycle, enforcing university and housing policy, providing after hours escorts, identifying and documenting security and lighting discrepancies, providing residential lockout assistance, and attending community meetings and presentations. The RSOs also work special details, such as extra patrol at the libraries during finals and helping with the security of dances and concerts. The RSOs observe and report suspicious activity on campus, and their actions have resulted in numerous field contacts by our police officers. All RSOs are trained in CPR and first aid. They also attend a forty hour laws of arrest course, in accordance with section 832 of the California Penal Code.
Community Service Officer Program
The Community Service Officer Program is staffed by one sergeant who is responsible for managing 115 student Community Service Officers (CSOs). CSOs receive training in CPR, first aid, traffic control, self-defense, driver awareness and safety training and police radio codes. In 2016, these student employees provided over 3000 safety escorts around the UCSD campus. CSOs also act as eyes and ears for the police department by reporting suspicious activity during evening hours. During the 2015-2016 school year, CSOs played a role in two felony arrests. CSOs respond to medical aid calls to direct medics to the person in need of aid, they provide staffing for special events on campus, assist the Bike Enforcement Officer with bike licensing and bike abatement efforts, and they respond to calls from affiliates who have locked themselves out of their residences or offices. CSOs supplement security services at both Geisel and Biomedical Library and provide after-hours staffing at the Price Center. CSOs are also assigned to the Mesa apartment complex, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Galbraith Hall to act as a visible deterrent and report any criminal activity. Additionally, CSO provided well over 5000 courtesy rides to campus destinations and destinations up to a one mile radius from campus. Triton Rides further enhances the safety of students and staff that find themselves on campus past the service times of the shuttles. The young men and women who serve the campus as CSOs are highly dedicated and motivated individuals.