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UC - Limit UC Police patrols to Campus only as response to UC Officer shooting of unarmed man
Balthezar
1588 replies62 threads Senior Member
In the wake of the tragic 7/19 shooting death of a man initially stopped for a missing license plate, the university has stopped UC Police patrols of the neighborhoods surrounding the uptown campus until further notice. I am not taking a position on whether the officer was justified in the traffic stop and subsequent chain of events that led to the shooting. What I am concerned about is that the 78 officer UC police force is no longer patrolling off campus. I'm about to deliver my daughter essentially into the protection of UC (of course, as usual she'll have to employ commonsense too) for the upcoming fall term in three weeks, and I'm concerned that the university's assurance that Cincinnati police will be patrolling the neighborhoods adjacent to the uptown campus in lieu of the UC Police stand down may not be as effective as, or manned in sufficient numbers as, the UC Police force has in the past. There are reports of neighborhood protests, and people up in arms regarding the Cincinnati prosecutor's refusal to release the officer's body cam video of the shooting, although he has said it will be released after a grand-jury decision in the case. If they don't indict the officer, my concern is that there may be rioting. I'm very concerned about placing my daughter into that type of potentially volatile situation.
Most universities maintain their own police forces (especially in cities) because they can attune police procedures to the unique needs of the students, faculty and staff of the university that employs them. It concerns me that while there has been mention that patrols will be picked up by City of Cincinnati police, that details of those additional responsibilities have not been forthcoming. Having to pick up the duties of a 78 officer university police force is daunting to say the least. Does the city have the police manpower to adequately take on the additional responsibilities, or will the frequency and/or number of patrols suffer? All currently unanswered as far as I know.
In addition, I mentioned the experience that UC Police have with the student community. Dealing with college students, and their adjustment to the new found freedom of the college experience, can sometimes be at odds with the responsibilities of the police to maintain an orderly public environment. I can't imagine that the City of Cincinnati police have as much experience in dealing with, shall we say, rambunctious college students as do the UC Police, and are more likely to see everything as a nail to be hit with their usual hammer.
I hope the situation resolves itself, and the UC directive limiting UC police patrols is reversed. At any rate, I wanted to make you aware of the currently unfolding situation. Your thoughts?
18 replies Most universities maintain their own police forces (especially in cities) because they can attune police procedures to the unique needs of the students, faculty and staff of the university that employs them. It concerns me that while there has been mention that patrols will be picked up by City of Cincinnati police, that details of those additional responsibilities have not been forthcoming. Having to pick up the duties of a 78 officer university police force is daunting to say the least. Does the city have the police manpower to adequately take on the additional responsibilities, or will the frequency and/or number of patrols suffer? All currently unanswered as far as I know.
In addition, I mentioned the experience that UC Police have with the student community. Dealing with college students, and their adjustment to the new found freedom of the college experience, can sometimes be at odds with the responsibilities of the police to maintain an orderly public environment. I can't imagine that the City of Cincinnati police have as much experience in dealing with, shall we say, rambunctious college students as do the UC Police, and are more likely to see everything as a nail to be hit with their usual hammer.
I hope the situation resolves itself, and the UC directive limiting UC police patrols is reversed. At any rate, I wanted to make you aware of the currently unfolding situation. Your thoughts?
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: UC - Limit UC Police patrols to Campus only as response to UC Officer shooting of unarmed man
The campus safety briefing was the next morning, and I was (again) surprised when I found out that not only were the campus police a fully-accredited police department, and that they had patrol zones that included the immediate off-campus area, and that they were armed. My immediate thought was that it must have been necessary at one time or another (and it also explained the security officer I saw the previous evening). At the time, I didn't have a problem with this.
I will admit that the most recent news is not only disconcerting, but the response is disconcerting too. I don't worry about my son, other than he has never lived in an urban environment like this. On my walkabouts this last June, I did not feel uncomfortable, and even struck up a conversation with a stranger or two, but not everybody feels comfortable like this.
http://www.fox19.com/story/29655843/police-chief-cincinnati-will-be-ready-for-indictment
This is really a tragedy. The prosecutor says that, in his opinion, UC ought not have a police force and Cincinnati should, instead, open up a 6th District right there on campus. He later states that "Clearly, there is an issue with violent crimes just off campus. Yeesh! That statement concerned me the most when I heard it. We'll just have to keep an eye on how things unfold now.
I also mentioned Prosecutor Deters' statement that there were clear violent crime problems in the areas just off campus, telling her I was very disturbed by that, saying I had been under the impression that overall crime had lessened greatly in the area from its highs in the early 2000s, and was getting better each year. Her response was that the prosecutor was just trying to bolster his case, but she would have a UCPD spokesman call with more specific answers to my concerns.
She thanked me for bringing up these concerns, indicating that they would be addressed in a later update to the UC community regarding the status of the incident and ongoing steps being taken in response.
But on the other hand, UC isn't the only campus around the country in an urban setting. There must be plenty of schools that have gone through something similar, and have figured out how campus police and city police co-exist. It will take time, but I think these are solvable problems.
http://www.uc.edu/officer-involved-shooting.html
===despite the misreporting in several news outlets, the level of patrolling off campus will not be reduced. We have been paying for additional Cincinnati Police patrols for a few years now and will continue to do so – these CPD deployment patterns will not change. And the UCPD officers can be off campus. Their only restriction is that they will not be engaging in traffic enforcement (i.e., not stopping cars for minor traffic offenses). But they will be visible on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods both on foot and in cars. I will personally be meeting with the CPD District Captains every two weeks (as I have for the last two years) – we will make sure that we continue our success in reducing crime around campus. Also, as you will see in the news today, we have just hired James Whalen as a new Director of Public Safety, while Jason Goodrich will remain as our Police Chief. Another new position – Director of Police-Community Relations – has been created and will be filled by Greg Baker. I have worked with both Jim and Greg for many years and trust their leadership. Our goal is to enhance both effective and equitable policing practices. Please know that safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors will remain our primary priority.===
That greatly relieves my concerns. Comments appreciated.
To help ensure your safety and the safety of our faculty, staff and visitors - UC Police will resume patrolling neighborhoods surrounding UC's Uptown campuses today - Friday, August 14. Patrols will be in accordance with Cincinnati City Council's most recent actions, which restricted UCPD from traffic enforcement. Both the Cincinnati Police Chief and City Solicitor support the reengagement of UC Police patrols in neighborhoods as defined by Cincinnati City Council.
Although UC Police will no longer be involved in traffic enforcement, they will continue to respond to calls for assistance (call 556-1111) and conduct high visibility patrols to enhance the safety of students and community members who live and work near our Uptown campuses. The same level of police and security personnel, as deployed during previous semesters, will patrol area streets and work hand-in-hand with Cincinnati police and other community partners to prevent crime and provide vital safety services. Additionally, Cincinnati Police will continue to provide extra patrols in neighborhoods surrounding the Uptown area.