UC Berkeley underwent a multi-hour campus lockdown on Thursday April 21. During the lockdown, police searched for a suspect that they claimed made serious and credible threats of violence toward the Berkeley community.
The university implemented the shelter-in-place order around 10 a.m. which lasted several hours. UCPD was able to locate the person in question at an off-campus location and determine that the individual posed no immediate threat to the campus or anyone on it. The university has not released more specific details, prioritizing privacy for all those involved.
This recent event raises questions about UCR’s readiness to secure UCR campus and ensure safety in areas that warrant a comprehensive review. Not too long ago the UC Riverside Police Department underwent a transition of management. Lieutenant Anthony Frisbee from the UC Irvine Police Department was confirmed to the role of Interim Chief of the UCPD and began working with Chief John Freese in January 2022 to ensure a smooth transition in February 2022 when Freese retired. Chief Freese swore in Lt. Frisbee as interim chief on February 10, 2022. UCR continues to conduct a national search for a permanent chief and they hope to find a candidate that can start before the next academic school year.
UCR UCPD has made strides to provide a more comprehensive on-campus security. Decisions made by UCR UCPD last year reorganized the police department into a holistic health, safety and wellbeing division. The new division also includes Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education, or CARE, Basic Needs, Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, The Well, Student Affairs Case Management and the Student Disability Resource Center.
UCR’s 2019 Crime and Safety Report crime statistics come from the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security data. It analyzes four types of crimes: violence against women, arrests for major crimes, arrests for possession and disciplinary actions.
UCR reported 232 incidents related to crime and safety in 2019. These incidents involved students and took place at or near campus or on other properties affiliated with the school. The overall percentage of crime by category: 53.9% disciplinary actions, 23.7% arrests for major crimes, 12.5% violence against women and 9.9% arrests for possession.
In 2019, UCR on-campus crime stats reported 220 incidents related to crime and safety that involved students on campus. Overall percentage for on-campus crime by category: 56.8% disciplinary actions, 23.3% arrests for major crimes, 12.7% violence against women and 7.3% arrests for possession.
According to the 2019 UCR Crime and Safety Report, it is not uncommon for a school to report zero incidents for any or all of these categories: 56% of the schools covered reported no arrests for major crimes, 67% reported no violence against women, 70% reported no arrests for possession and 68% reported no disciplinary actions. However, zero incidents of reported crime could indicate lax reporting. A high number of incidents may mean that the school is stricter about law enforcement and reporting. By maintaining a critical analysis of crime reports and by centering the safety of the UCR community, the campus can prevent simplistic or incomplete analyses that can adversely affect UCR students and staff.
