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Division of Public Safety
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Enhancing Security
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In order to make the campus a safer place to live, study, and work, the University of Illinois Division of Public Safety is continuously working to properly respond to the crime and disorder issues that face the campus community.
Division initiatives that will directly affect the campus community are:
- Increased staffing to improve officer visibility and police response to crime problems.
- A greater emphasis on walking and bike patrols, as well as the use of the electric Sentinel, to provide greater coverage in less easily-patrolled areas of campus.
- Rather than contracting with an outside agency, the security officer program in Housing is now coordinated through the Division of Public Safety and is staffed with full-time university employees.
- Police have been successful on several occasions in developing offender information and identities due to the increased use of security cameras. Through this effective investigative tool and increased number of cameras, the Division expects to also see a deterrent effect for those who may be inclined to commit a crime.
While the Division of Public Safety has worked to improve its response to crime in the campus area, the members of the Division rely heavily on the support of the community to reduce the opportunities for crimes to occur. The effort for each member of the community is minimal: a willingness to be aware and involved is all that is required to make the campus even safer. For those members of the community who choose to take a more active role, the Division will continue to partner directly with them and their respective units in providing greater educational opportunities surrounding safety.
Increased Staffing
Our sworn officer authorized staffing has been increased to sixty-three. Six recent hires have successfully completed the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. These six recruit officers are currently on patrol with Field Training Officers as they continue their training. With this increased staffing, we are able to assign officers on foot and bicycle patrols within the core campus district. This will allow us to take a more active role in addressing robberies, batteries, aggressive panhandling and other crimes. This high visibility deployment strategy has proven effective already: two of these officer teams’ observations and actions resulted in the arrest of two armed offenders in the campus district - one of whom fired a weapon into the air.
Crime Prevention
In March, two officers were certified in Crime Prevention and Basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Both of these officers will be able to work with units on campus to do security surveys of the buildings.
Due to the fact that most of the victims of robberies and batteries on campus are men, the Police Department will be piloting the RAD for Men course this fall. The Resisting Aggression with Defense course will increase the educational opportunities for men in the campus community. We will continue to offer self-defense class to women on the campus through the Rape Aggression Defense Systems courses. The Housing Division and the Women’s Resources Center continue to be strong partners with this initiative.
The community and police partnership is key to crime prevention. While the police often respond to crimes, a greater impact can be made through the 50,000 sets of eyes and ears that patrol the campus on a daily basis. We encourage members of the community to reduce the risk for crime to occur by taking steps as simple as properly locking and securing a door and keeping valuables in places that are not easily accessible. When community members make an impact on the opportunity for crime to occur, there is a greater chance that crime will be reduced.
We will continue to provide educational talks to student, faculty, and staff members who request them. In order to request a presentation, please email Sgt. Joan Fiesta at jmfiesta@illinois.edu.
Student Patrol, SafeWalks and the Sentinel
Student Patrol Officers will continue to provide the SafeWalks service throughout the campus district. In order to request a SafeWalks escort between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday), an individual who would otherwise find himself or herself walking alone should call 217-333-1216. Thanks to generous support from the Parent’s (Mom’s) Association, we have purchased two electric “Sentinels” to assist both patrol officers for higher visibility patrol and the Student Patrol Officers who will utilize them to conduct our “SafeWalks” campaign. The “Sentinels” are electric, three-wheeled vehicles that are equipped with lights and siren. The “Sentinels,” like bicycles, allow officers to patrol and quickly respond to areas that are not easily reached by squad cars.
Campus Security Officers
Starting this semester, there will be new faces patrolling the public areas of the University Residence Halls. The Security Officer Program is the result of a collaborative effort between the Housing Division and the University of Illinois Police to bring a professional, university-based security staff in order to serve the student population living in the residence halls. Ryan Johnson has joined the police department to coordinate both the Security Officer and Student Patrol programs.
The goal of the Security Officer program is to provide enhanced security measures for the undergraduate residence halls by reducing the opportunity for crime to occur in those areas. The seven full-time security officers will patrol the common areas inside the residence halls, as well as the exterior areas. They will act as an extension of the police department; the security officers will provide extra eyes and ears to enhance the patrol and response capabilities of the police officers on the street. The security officers have completed 80-hours of classroom training. The training included blocks on law, evidence, crime prevention, defensive tactics, cultural diversity, behavior-based witnessing, crisis intervention and communications, as well as university resources. Members of the Housing Division, The Office of the Dean of Students, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Office, and the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations have been generous in assisting with the training efforts for the security officers.
Technology
The use of technology to enhance safety continues. The security camera program was initiated last year with approximately 30 cameras on-line at the start of the Fall 2010 semester. With the start of this Fall 2011 semester, over 500 cameras are on-line. We continue to expand the program throughout campus. University Housing’s camera system was initiated late in the Fall of 2010 and immediately resulted in the apprehension of a burglary suspect. Several other cases have developed offender information as a result of images provided through the use of the security cameras. It is expected that the arrests and the increased use of the security cameras will also provide a deterrent effect to crimes on campus. We continue to explore expanding the camera network more deeply into the core campus district. Currently, we are looking to partner with Campustown businesses to provide a more comprehensive network of technology in areas in which students travel. The University of Illinois, Champaign, and Urbana Police Departments are fully participating in the crimereports.com pinpoint crime map. Community members who are interested in keeping up with reported crimes in the campus area can sign up for the service and stay abreast of the crime issues.
Information on new alert (RAVE) system
The campus has rolled out an improved emergency notification system this fall. The new system, which is still called “Illini-Alert,” will offer a proven and reliable mechanism to disseminate emergency information to the campus community. Text, email, web alert, Twitter and Facebook will be utilized to disseminate simultaneous emergency messages during a campus emergency. The Facebook page for Illini Alert is http://www.facebook.com/illinialert. The Twitter account can be monitored by following @IlliniAlert. Those who have enrolled in the prior version of “Illini-Alert” do not need to register for the new system. Information regarding registration can be found by visiting emergency.illinois.edu or www.cites.illinois.edu/illinialert
Conclusion
The Division of Public Safety is fortunate to have the support of the campus community and neighboring law enforcement agencies in its efforts to facilitate a safer environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Many of the initiatives listed above could not have been realized without the assistance from our campus partners. Safety and risk reduction continues to be everyone’s responsibility. The Division of Public Safety is working to facilitate a greater understanding of the crime problem for community members. Through an increased awareness of the issues surrounding crime, community members will be more empowered to take a stand against criminal activity. We only ask that community members take the time to get involved when they notice suspicious behavior. A simple call to the police by dialing 911 could help someone who is in need of assistance. It could also stop a crime problem before it starts.