A UC Riverside task force is proposing a series of reforms to how the campus addresses policing in a newly released draft report.
The Campus Safety Task Force will hold a town hall meeting Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. to discuss the draft recommendations and receive feedback from the campus.
The task force, made up of students, staff, faculty, and community members, was appointed by Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox in September to review campus policing, racial injustice, and social inequity following national furor over the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans by police officers.
“The members of the task force have approached this with great sincerity and diligence and have attempted to fully consider as many diverse perspectives as possible,” said Jack Clarke Jr., a partner with the law firm of Best Best & Krieger, who is the chair of the task force. “As noted in the draft report, we see this as a start of an ongoing dialogue to address issues of campus safety and make sure the officials who are responsible for the safety of the campus understand that the campus has concerns and truly wants both dialogue and accountability.”
The recommendations include redefining campus safety to include increased community engagement and more prevention efforts; increased training and oversight that addresses implicit bias; and more collaboration with local and regional partners to enhance resources.
The task force proposed nine recommendations separated into three themes. The report notes that safety is about more than physical protection, and also must address mental health and emotional well-being.
“The task force aims to redefine safety on UCR’s campus as inclusive, compassionate, resourceful, purposeful, preventative, and rehabilitative, combined with the requisite resources to support this new definition,” the report states.
As part of the reimagining campus safety theme, the task force proposes increased engagement with university partners including the highly diverse student body and integrating public safety with campus prevention programs addressing mental health, sexual harassment, and drug or alcohol abuse.
Another recommendation in the campus safety theme is the creation of a committee by the chancellor to continually review best practices and monitor the implementation of the task force’s recommendations.
Reflecting the changed approach to safety, the task force proposes renaming the police department to the Campus Safety Department.
Under the second theme addressing training, personnel, and oversight, the recommendations include addressing implicit bias in recruitment and training; conducting a comprehensive assessment of campus needs based on five years’ data such as types and numbers of calls and complaints; and strengthening public accountability. The report suggests reconfiguring the department’s Community Advisory Board or creating a new body that would provide regular community updates to improve accountability. (This body would be separate from the chancellor’s committee proposed to review implementation and best practices.)
The third theme, involving increased collaboration with partners, proposes programs such as a restorative justice program with the Riverside County District Attorney’s office; addressing mental health issues; and investing in services related to basic needs such as homelessness.
The task force describes its recommendation as “a starting point for substantive reform of campus safety operations.”
“Ultimately, we envision a UCR campus safety infrastructure and set of operations that will support, educate, and revitalize the campus community; hence, resulting in fewer criminal cases, more inclusion and less bias, and a safer campus community for everyone,” the report states.
Wilcox will meet with the task force in late February to review the report and discuss recommendations and a timeline for implementation.
