UCLA Police Department: Ensuring Safety and Security on Campus

The UCLA Police Department (UCPD) plays a crucial role in maintaining a safe and secure environment for the diverse urban campus and its surrounding community. As a leader in progressive law enforcement, the department is dedicated to providing a secure environment for teaching, research, and public service. This is achieved through a combination of patrol, rapid response to calls for service, thorough investigations, educational programs, and the implementation of preventative strategies.

Core Functions and Services

The UCPD provides a wide array of services to ensure the safety and well-being of the UCLA community. These services include:

Patrol: Regular patrols are conducted to deter crime and maintain a visible security presence throughout the campus.
Rapid Response: The UCPD is committed to responding quickly and efficiently to all calls for service, ensuring that help arrives when it is needed most.
Investigations: The department conducts thorough investigations of reported crimes and incidents to bring offenders to justice and prevent future occurrences.

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Education: UCPD offers educational programs and resources to inform the community about safety practices and crime prevention techniques.
Preventative Strategies: Proactive measures are implemented to address potential security risks and prevent crime before it happens.

Reporting and Emergency Services

The UCPD provides multiple channels for reporting crimes and seeking assistance. These include:

Reporting a Crime: Individuals can report incidents and crimes to the UCPD through various channels. A guide to non-emergency reports and anonymous reporting is available to ensure that all concerns are addressed appropriately.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS): The UCPD provides information and access to emergency medical services, including EMT jobs, classes, ride-along opportunities, and resources for paying ambulance bills.

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Community Service Officers (CSO): The department employs Community Service Officers who provide evening escorts, evening van services, and other assistance to enhance campus safety. CSO jobs are also available for students seeking employment opportunities.
Fingerprinting: Campus affiliates and the general public can book appointments for Live Scan/background check fingerprinting services.

Contacting the UCLA Police Department

The UCLA Police Department can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at (310) 825-1491 to report a crime or other incident on campus, or to receive immediate help.

Commitment to Core Values

The UCPD operates with a firm commitment to its core values, which guide its actions and interactions with the community:

Accountability: Being responsible for one's actions.

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Respect: Treating others as one would want to be treated.
Integrity: Always doing the right thing.
Service: Working to meet the community’s needs.
Excellence: Performing at the highest standard.

Community Partnerships and Problem-Solving

The UCLA Police Department is dedicated to providing a safe and secure environment for teaching, research and public service. The department accomplishes this by developing community partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address crime, the fear of crime and quality of life issues. This includes working with UCLA students, staff and faculty through the Police Chief's Advisory Council to bring about positive change.

Anonymous Reporting

The anonymous reporting line, (310) 794-5824, is provided as a resource for those wishing to report a crime or unsafe behavior anonymously. If you choose to report anonymously, you must leave specific details in order for UCPD to investigate the crime or unsafe behavior. Provide details to the best of your ability to the following questions:

What happened? What did you see? What appears suspicious to you?
Where exactly did the incident occur? Include streets, building and room/area.
Did the suspect(s) have any weapons?
What did the suspect say?
Where and when was the suspect last seen?
Which direction was the suspect headed?
Was the suspect on foot or in a vehicle?
What did the suspect(s) look like? Describe each suspect one at a time.
- Gender
- Race
- Age
- Height & Weight
- Hair Color & Length
- Clothing
- Glasses/Facial Hair
Was the suspect carrying anything?
Vehicle Description, Color, Make, Model, License Plate

After a message is retrieved from the anonymous reporting line, the information is forwarded to the appropriate person.

Crime Stoppers

Tipsters can anonymously report crimes or suspicious activity to the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at www.lacrimestoppers.com. Crimes or suspicious activity occurring on University property should be designated as a "tip related to a school or student", with UCLA entered as the Campus Name.

The purpose of Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers is to prevent and reduce crime by forming a partnership among the community, law enforcement, and the media to offer anonymity and cash rewards to anyone providing information leading to an arrest, thereby making the community a safer place for all who live or work in the region.

Crime Stoppers encourages members of the community to assist local law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime by overcoming the two key elements that inhibit community involvement: fear and apathy. Crime Stoppers uses state-of-the-art encryption technology to ensure Crime Stoppers tips stay anonymous. Phone numbers, IP addresses, etc. are not traceable.

A Brief History of the University of California Police

The University of California was established in 1868, and moved its first campus to Berkeley in 1873. The San Francisco and Los Angeles campuses followed in 1873 and 1919, respectively. The original UCPD department at Berkeley was founded after World War II.

The UCPD is one of several police agencies in California having a statewide jurisdiction and authority. Each of the ten University of California system's campuses possesses its own police department led by its own chief of police. There is no single "chief of the UCPD". One chief is selected as the departments' central coordinator. The coordinator is responsible for compiling crime statistics from each campus, as required by the Clery Act, and for ensuring that the various departments are operating within the UCPD's mission. However, each independent campus department's chain of command flows from the University of California Regents through the respective campus chancellor.

Since October 1989, UCPD officers wear LAPD-style dark blue uniforms with departmental patches; their previous uniforms were California Highway Patrol-style tan. Almost all of the departments have a Community Service Officer (CSO) program. CSOs are non-sworn student employees that perform various tasks for the department. Although their job description varies slightly from department to department, most utilize CSOs to perform night escorts, building checks, and general citizen assistance.

All of the ten departments use tasers: San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Riverside, Davis, Santa Cruz, and Merced. In addition to CSO programs, departments each have a Communications Division, which is the police dispatch center and the 9-1-1 access point for each UC campus. In addition to these standard police bureaus, several departments also staff more specialized police and public safety units.

The original University of California Police Department started on the Berkeley campus after the First World War. The very first security employees were three watchmen who wore full-length street carmen's coats. They each carried keys, a sidearm, and a flashlight as well as a switch to chase errant dogs from the Greek Theater stage during weekend concerts.

In 1925, Captain Walter J. Lee was appointed to lead the department, which he did for the next thirty plus years. In 1947, the Regents established the University of California Police Department in its own right as a fully constituted police agency with authority based on Sections 20221 and 20222 of the State Education Code. Captain Lee was succeeded by Captain W. W. Wadman. Captain Wadman was the first university staff member in the country who was selected to attend the FBI National Academy. Campus police duties during his tenure included patrolling the campus, enforcing traffic regulations and controlling traffic, investigating reports and complaints, conducting escorts, and policing an assortment of events.

In the fall of 1964, the Free Speech Movement began in Berkeley, a phenomenon which spread to many other college campuses in the following years. In December 1964, the police arrested 774 people in the Sproul Hall Sit-in, the largest mass arrest undertaken in the country up to that time. One of the most notable on-going protests has been about a piece of university property called People's Park. People's Park history is long and appears to be never ending. The University purchased the land in 1967 to build dormitories, but were prevented from building due to protests.

On May 1, 1969, William P. Beall, the retired chief of the Berkeley Police Department, became the chief at UC Berkeley. In addition to his duties at Berkeley, Chief Beall became the first university-wide coordinator of the nine-campus police department system. Chief Beall oversaw the instituting and managing uniform system-wide policies governing recruiting, training, personnel, and performance standards. The nine campus police departments continue to work together closely. Chief Beall was succeeded by Chief Derry Bowles. Chief Bowles had been the chief of the UC Police Department on the Santa Barbara campus.

In 1990, Victoria L. Harrison was selected as chief of police. She was the first female police chief in the UC system, and the first in Alameda County. She came to the Berkeley campus as a lieutenant, having served the first part of her career on the Santa Barbara campus. Chief Harrison served for 19 years. She led the department through extensive program changes and capital improvements. On August 1, 2009, Mitchell J. Celaya was sworn in as chief. He was the first UC Berkeley chief to have started his career with UCPD as a police officer at Berkeley, and was the first Latino UC police chief. He worked many assignments as he promoted through the ranks and served as assistant chief for Chief Harrison. He retired December 30, 2012.

Other UC Police Departments

The University of California system has police departments at each of its campuses. These include:

UC Davis Police Department: The department is chiefly responsible for police activities on the school's campus and the medical center in Sacramento. The chief of the department is Joseph A. Farrow. The department's officers are armed. The department includes a number of teams and divisions including the Support Services Division, Investigations Division, Training Division, Patrol Division, 9-1-1 Communications Center, Property and Evidence Division, Lost and Found Division, Professional Standards Division and a Security Division. UCPD utilizes non-sworn student employees in the Aggie Host Security Officer program. In August 2017, the new Chief of Police, Joseph A. "Joe" Farrow, was sworn in.
UC Irvine Police Department: The University of California, Irvine Police Department is located at 410 E. The UCI Police Department is an accredited agency. It began its accreditation review process on February 14, 2022, and achieved official accreditation in September 2024 by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). In addition to meeting all mandatory standards, the department exceeded expectations by achieving 93% of the optional standards-far surpassing IACLEA’s minimum requirements and demonstrating its commitment to professional excellence. The department moved into a modern new police station in early 2010. The department is home to both the student Community Service Officer (CSO) program as well as UCLA Emergency Medical Services (UCLA EMS). The EMS program responds to over 1700 9-1-1 medical aid calls on campus, as well as in the surrounding Westwood Village community. At least one ambulance is in service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
UC Merced Police Department: The University of California, Merced Police Department is located at 5200 N.
UC San Diego Police Department: The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) Police Department is located at 9500 Gilman Drive #0017, La Jolla, CA. UC San Diego is made up of eight colleges that each have their own residence areas. The interior and exterior of these housing areas are patrolled by 20 residential security officers. Police patrol services are provided by seventeen police officers and corporals assigned to the Patrol Division.
UC San Francisco Police Department: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Police Department headquarters is located at 654 Minnesota St, Suite 180, San Francisco, CA. Police patrol services are provided 24 hours per day at all San Francisco and San Mateo County sites. The Information Services Division includes the 911 Emergency Communications Center (ECC), which provides services including dispatching police, answering 911 calls originating from UCSF facilities, monitoring fire and intrusion alarms. The ECC is the focal point of all police field communication and links the University with other emergency public agencies. The ECC has 10 full-time dispatchers, certified by the state of California's Commission of Peace Officer Standards and Training. The Investigations Unit conducts investigations of major crimes. They also maintain investigative liaisons with other law enforcement agencies and develop crime analysis information to assist in effective patrol operations and to better inform the community of crime matters. The Public Safety Services Division provides on-site security protection services at designated sites, manages the WeID Access Control Program, conducts security surveys and new development plan review, coordinates approval of new security devices with the Capital Projects and Facilities Management organization, manages the LiveScan fingerprinting and security clearance process, and troubleshoots security issues on behalf of the UCSF enterprise.
UC Santa Barbara Police Department: In addition to having a CSO program, the UCSB police department operates a paramedic unit. The EMS program responds to 9-1-1 medical calls on campus, as well as in the surrounding Isla Vista community, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The student employees are EMT trained, and the non-students are paramedic trained. In Santa Barbara County, this allows the ambulance to be considered an ALS provider. The program utilizes a type III ambulance. EMS services through the UCPD Rescue were discontinued in July, 2011 and Santa Barbara County Fire Department added an Advanced Life Support ambulance as well as additional staffing to Fire Station 17, which is attached to the police department and formerly housed both SBCo. FD personnel as well as UCSB Rescue. This new service provides the primary medical response and transport to all 9-1-1 calls on campus, and transports from Isla Vista are shared with American Medical Response, a private for-profit paramedic ambulance company which serves Goleta and the rest of Santa Barbara County. The Problem-Solving Unit provides resources in criminal investigations, criminal intelligence, threat management, crime prevention, dignitary protection, and liaison to external agencies. This investigative unit actively participates in the Santa Barbara Regional Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (SBRNET), Santa Barbara County Arson Task Force, Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and works closely with the Joint Regional Information Center (JRIC). The Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) was initiated in 1970 in the interest of developing "community based policing" for the community of Isla Vista. The UCSB Police Department works with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department (SBSO) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to staff the IVFP. While the SBSO maintains primary jurisdiction and responsibility for Isla Vista, the UCSB Police Department and California Highway Patrol provide a supportive role.
UC Santa Cruz Police Department: The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Police Department is located at the Emergency Response Center, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, CA. The UC Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations unit has the responsibility of investigating felony and misdemeanor crimes occurring on the campus. The detective of the unit works closely with allied agencies to identify criminal suspects and crime trends. The Detective is responsible for investigations of both property and persons crimes which include burglary, grand larceny, stolen property, vehicle theft, fraud/forgeries, identity theft, assaults, robberies, homicides, crimes against children, weapons violations and other types of crimes involving the campus community. The primary function of the patrol division personnel is to provide a uniformed response to calls for service, enforce traffic laws, investigate criminal activity, provide safety presentations to the campus community, assist other divisions as needed, and to act as a visible deterrent to crime.

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