While police expect today’s demonstrations at UCLA on public education to be peaceful, they are still preparing for the protests by bringing in additional officers to ensure the safety and security of all those involved, according to university police.
The anticipated civil protests will not require much security intervention, said UCPD spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein.
“As police, we are prepared for all types of contingencies, but we are expecting this to be peaceful,” Greenstein said. “Our job is to support student activities, including the right to protest peacefully.”
In order to guarantee peaceful protests, police are planning to bring in additional officers and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies, said UCPD Capt. John Adams.
The additional officers will be on and off campus to help de-escalate any situations that could arise and to take action against any people who may violate the law.
“If the individuals that are involved in any kind of demonstration happen to endanger other individuals or do things that would endanger the public, then of course we would have to act accordingly,” Adams said.
UCPD also hopes to form open dialogue between protesters and police, including urging people to give them a call if they see anything disruptive going on during the protests, which will help police to maintain the peace.
“We understand that there are many different people that are passionate about the issues that are out there, and not everybody is going to see eye-to-eye within their own demonstration groups,” Adams said.
The Center for Student Programming, a department of student affairs at UCLA, is also working with police to provide security at the marches. As at the UC Board of Regents meetings, the center will work to protect students and prevent the marches from getting out of hand by informing those who are involved of UCLA’s policies, including noise complaints and respecting counter-protests, said Berky Nelson, director of the center.
“We want to make sure that the protesters are aware of the rules and regulations and do not tip the balance between free speech versus violence,” Nelson said. “Everyone who participates in the demonstration doesn’t know university rules, and that’s what we are here to provide.”
After the controversy that arose with police enforcement at the regents meetings in November, including the use of Tasers and Mace on students, concerns have developed regarding the security measures that will be taken at the marches.
However, as the marches and the regents meetings are two dissimilar situations, different measures will be taken today, according to Greenstein.
“We had a mission to not only protect the ability to have the meeting continue, but also we had to protect the individuals in the meeting, which is different from having spontaneous events on campus,” Adams said.
For the protests today, police will focus on ensuring the safety of those involved and keeping the peace on campus.
“Our mission is to protect life and property, in that order, and to make sure that not only the university but also the students, staff and faculty members are kept safe,” Adams said.