Nancy Greenstein  Greenstein is
the Director of Police Community Services for the university police
at UCLA. Â Â
UCLA is a great and safe place to live, work and study. The UCLA
Police Department is one of the campus groups that helps to keep
things that way.
As the university’s own police department, it is our job
to ensure campus safety so that students, faculty and staff members
can go about their day-to-day objectives, pursuing a higher
education in an atmosphere that fosters learning, socialization and
recreation. While we’re here to reduce crime in our
community, UCPD also provides many other services that complement
the university’s mission of education, research, and
community service.
The university’s unique geography and population make it
an ideal setting for “community policing,” a philosophy
that is based on police building partnerships with campus groups
and individuals. We want you to get to know us as individuals,
rather than just the people with the uniforms and a badge. In turn,
we want to get to know as many members of the campus community as
we can.
Our community policing efforts have led to the creation of many
joint programs with other groups on campus. Examples include a
protocol with the Center for Women & Men for survivors of rape,
working with a multi-division response team on workplace violence
and prevention, safety programs with students and campus
organizations, and partnering with groups such as the Office of
Residential Life on education and problem-solving activities.
While many of these activities happen out of the public eye,
sometimes events do put us in the spotlight. One such incident from
last school year is the disappearance of Michael Negrete from his
residence hall. UCPD remains in contact with Michael’s family
and has involved multiple police agencies continuing to search for
Michael, unfortunately, without success.
 JASON CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Much more common is
the routine call received by UCPD called “overdue
adult.” These calls are often from a family member indicating
their sons or daughters have not been heard from for a period of
days. Officers typically locate the students in the residence halls
or at their apartments and ask them to call home.
Though it occurs infrequently, crime against individuals is a
high priority for UCPD. Many such calls are for incidents between
people who know each other ““ such as domestic, roommate or
employee quarrels. Because UCPD is a full-service police department
and the officers are state police, we do our own investigations and
prepare the cases for filing with the City Attorney or District
Attorney. Municipal departments with a larger number of victims
typically do not have the resources to prioritize all crimes
against persons.
A recent example is the case of Michael Peers, who in 1998 was
posing as a talent scout and luring female UCLA students to his
apartment where he inappropriately and without their knowledge
videotaped them. A student reported the behavior and, after
receiving a search warrant, our detectives found videotapes of
numerous other victims. Peers was charged and fled the area.
UCPD detectives followed his trail and with the cooperation of
the Allegheny County Pennsylvania Police Department had him
arrested and extradited. On Aug. 3, 2000, he was sentenced to 1
year in jail and ordered to stay away from college campuses. The
latter is most important, as it will be difficult for him to
victimize young college women again.
This past August, a crime bulletin was received from the San
Diego area, noting an individual suspected of robbing a UC San
Diego student was thought to be in the Los Angeles area. During
their daily briefing, officers were informed about this individual
who was known to seek out college campuses.
Soon after, an observant officer saw a person meeting the
description. It was the suspect, who was questioned and sent back
to San Diego before he could do any harm in our community.
I share these few cases not to scare people. They represent a
minority of crimes (last year 40 “Part I” crimes
““ which are serious felonies such as murder, rape, and arson
““ were reported), but the cases highlight the significant
police work that is done to ensure a safe environment.
The majority of crimes at UCLA are property crime: often the
theft of unattended personal objects such as laptop computers and
backpacks. These “crimes of opportunity” can easily be
avoided by insuring your property is not left alone. Auto crime
also occurs. Locking doors and placing objects out of view could
prevent many incidents.
Officers on foot, bicycles, motorcycles and in cars patrol
campus and the surrounding neighborhood. UCPD officers provide a
layer of security on campus and a protective shield around UCLA
properties.
A number of students and staff live in University Apartments
South, which are a few miles from campus. Crime is very low on the
UCLA properties compared to adjacent neighborhoods. UCPD officers
are visible to the local neighborhood, having been the primary
agency in solving a number of area crimes. Those seeking to commit
criminal acts have learned to stay away from UCLA property, since
there is a higher likelihood they will be caught.
Assisting the officers are the student-run Community Service
Officer (CSO) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs. CSOs
are assigned throughout the campus to provide building security, an
extra set of eyes and ears to prevent crime, and escorting students
during the evening hours.
EMS runs a 24-hour ambulance responding to ill and injured
campus members (employment applications are always welcomed from
interested students). A number of UCPD officers are UCLA graduates
who began their careers as CSOs. In addition to their academic
education, these officers attend the Sheriff’s Academy and
return to serve the campus community as a police officer.
Let’s be candid. We have our unpopular moments even if it
is a UCLA alumnus who is pulling you over for a traffic stop or
jaywalking. This is a congested campus and there are accidents
injuring pedestrians, bicyclists and individuals in motor vehicles.
We cite for marijuana and on occasion for drinking in public
especially if it looks like the person may be going to drive.
But, rather then issue citations we often prefer to work with
staff from the Dean of Students Office to use the student judicial
system and hope that we do not encounter the individual violating
the law again.
When we are involved in student demonstrations, our profile
becomes much higher.
Participating in political action is an important component of
the university experience. We respect the First Amendment rights of
the students and while sometimes respective roles are at odds, our
goal is to apply the principles of community policing and forge
partnerships where we can be supportive and helpful during lawful
demonstrations and respond professionally to incidences of civil
disobedience. This goal can be illusive and requires commitment
from all involved to make it successful.
The university is not immune to problems facing the community at
large such as intolerance and hate crimes. Typically, we receive
five reports of hate crimes and incidents each year.
Last spring, there were two high-profile occurrences that
focused attention to the issue. The police have a strong and
progressive policy regarding hate crimes and hate incidents. We
work collaboratively with the District Attorney’s Hate Crime
Unit and campus organizations. We believe there may be
underreporting in this area and are working with the campus
community to ensure reporting so we can identify those committing
the crimes and educate the community regarding the issue and
penalties.
So, what is the problem with yelling at midnight? UCPD has no
particular problem with noise at midnight, but neighbors do ““
and, by law, we must respond to the calls and pursue violations of
law. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the midnight yell
behavior has become dangerous to many, i.e. setting fires, throwing
objects.
What was traditionally a simple yell became an incident
responded to by LAPD last year, with a large number of officers,
police cars and helicopters. It also generated multiple complaints
from neighbors (students and non-students) and local officials.
Fortunately, many of the students in the neighborhood understand
the potential danger from the illegal behavior and the event is
returning to its previous peaceful nature.
We appreciate the opportunity provided by The Bruin to share
some thoughts. We encourage UCLA community members to contact us
for general information, to discuss concerns, to request
presentations and security surveys, to provide suggestions and
become involved in community policing partnerships.
To receive periodic e-mail messages regarding public safety,
crime prevention and police bulletins, e-mail [email protected].
Our web site can be found at ucpd.ucla.edu. This site contains
safety information, crime bulletins and our annual statistical
reports.