This message is to announce program changes that will take effect in the UC Santa Cruz Police Department later this summer:
• The nighttime Kiosk Guard Program will end effective August 31.
• Redeployment of the funding currently supporting the Kiosk Guard Program will be used to hire two additional police officers for campus patrol.
• The campus is providing additional funding to support one new police officer position. In summary, we will add three law enforcement officer positions to the department.
With these changes, the campus will have increased its law enforcement staffing to 19.5. This will enable us to have a minimum of two officers on duty at all times with additional officers in the evenings available for response to our residential communities, evening events, research lab safety, libraries and for other areas of campus. In my judgment, increasing the presence and availability of patrol officers is the most effective way to deploy department resources and improve public safety throughout the campus.
The decision to redeploy Kiosk Guard Program resources to fund two additional officers was not an easy one to reach. The review and analysis was conducted in collaboration with several key managers across campus and consideration was given to best practices on other UC campuses. In the end, I concluded that having more police officers in the field and available to serve the campus in the areas of patrol, investigations, and during times of emergency response was a higher operational priority — and in the best interest of campus safety.
The Kiosk Guard Program has provided a long-standing service to the campus and the staff who have served in the night guard positions have been very committed and professional. I am very thankful for the contributions that they have made to the community.
The planned elimination of night Kiosk staffing will not change the daytime parking services provided by TAPS at the main entrance Kiosk.
Over the summer, I will provide additional updates about public safety programs including information about the night escort program, foot patrols, bike patrols and possibly the reintroduction of a motorcycle patrol program. Please feel free to contact me at 831-459-2231 if you should have any questions or concerns.
