UC falls behind deadline for implementation of community safety plan
The University of California and UCLA are both making progress on community safety plan goals. (Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin)
By Andrew Panosian
Oct. 15, 2021 4:11 p.m.
This post was updated Oct. 18 at 12:49 a.m.
The University of California is making progress on its community safety plan, but a number of goals remain incomplete after the first deadline passed at the end of September.
The UC released its community safety plan Aug. 16, which provided guidelines for UC policing and safety and established deadlines for the plan’s implementation that extend until 2023.
[Related: UC Community Safety Plan requires campuses to design tiered crisis response models]
According to the UC Office of the President, multiple agenda items were due Sept. 30, such as the establishment of two systemwide working groups, a community-led process that involves faculty, students and staff defining and advising on the specific strategies and approaches in the tiered response model, evaluation criteria for hiring campus safety officials and campus-specific guidance on protest response.
Ricardo Vazquez, a UCLA spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that UCLA has initiated its own public safety efforts in addition to the community safety plan.
In April, Chancellor Gene Block appointed attorney Rasha Gerges Shields and UCLA professor Tyrone Howard to lead the process of reviewing and assessing campus public safety processes. The co-chairs have completed campuswide listening sessions with UCPD and UCLA faculty, students and staff.
Vazquez added that Shields and Howard will submit a report this coming month with recommendations that will include suggestions for a task force structure.
Two systemwide workgroups are still in formation and their memberships are being finalized, said UCOP spokesperson Stett Holbrook.
One workgroup will provide recommendations on developing a systemwide data dashboard while the other will develop guidelines for UCPD uniforms, vehicles and equipment.
“As is standard practice for systemwide workgroups, our goal is to balance participation across campus locations, areas of expertise and constituencies,” Holbrook said. “Membership will be publicly posted to encourage the UC community to engage with their representatives on this important work.”
Holbrook added that campus-based public data dashboard pilot projects are making progress and supporting the work of the systemwide data dashboard working group.
Vazquez said that when hiring safety officials, UCLA will continue to focus on the applicant’s commitment to the community and certain key values.
“In terms of hiring public safety personnel, UCLA PD’s current hiring and promotional decisions already evaluate whether a candidate’s behaviors are consistent with the UCLA Police Department’s core values of accountability, respect, integrity, service and excellence, which are identical to UCLA’s True Bruin Values,” Vazquez said in the statement.
