University of California Police Officers generally provide for the peace, safety, and security of persons and facilities on the university campus and those properties owned, controlled, or occupied by the University of California. It is the function of the patrol unit to provide twenty-four hour uniformed patrol coverage to all areas of the university. Officers provide preventive patrols on foot, bicycle, and motor vehicles; receive, process, and investigate complaints by citizens; respond to emergencies such as crimes, accidents, injuries, illness, and fires; protect persons and property through crime prevention; arrest offenders; appear in court; provide traffic control and enforcement; attend community meetings; perform miscellaneous services related to public health and safety; safeguard the custody and disposal of evidence and lost and found property.

2003 had a marked increase in the on-campus population we serve. The campus acquired the Francisco Torres Residence Hall in the latter part of December in 2002. For the first six months of the year, we provided general law enforcement to that 1300 bed complex, which housed both UCSB and Santa Barbara City College students. Over the summer the complex hosted numerous camps. The university closed one of 750 bed towers in the fall to begin renovation. 2003 also was the first year that the opening of the new Manzanita Village Housing Complex impact was felt. The Manzanita Student Housing Complex has 800 residents.

The Rescue unit provides the university and surrounding community with a paramedic ambulance service that operates twenty-four hours a day. The unit is staffed with full-time Paramedics and part-time Emergency Medical Technicians that are also full-time UCSB students. The Rescue unit contributes to the medical readiness of the community by delivering emergency medical aid and teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes to campus departments and the public. The unit actively participates in the skill development of emergency medical technicians and paramedics by participating in training seminars and supporting the county’s annual Emergency Medical Services Conference. The Rescue unit responded to seven hundred and twenty-nine medical calls this year, transporting five hundred eleven patients to a medical facility. Two hundred eighteen of the medical calls were for first aid assistance, not requiring patient transportation.

The Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPEP) is a personal safety program jointly sponsored by the UCSB Police Department and the UCSB Women’s Center. Police and RPEP staff work together to educate the campus community about sexual assault prevention and to develop strategies for a safer environment. RPEP staff is also available to provide education, aid, and counseling to survivors of sexual assault.

Rape prevention workshops, discussions, and seminars are available to all students, staff, and faculty, both on-campus and in the surrounding community. Workshops focus on prevention, resources and assistance.

The Investigations unit fulfills the community’s need for advanced resources in criminal investigation, crime prevention, personal safety, dignitary protection, and liaison to outside agencies. The unit investigates all major felonies, crimes against persons, property, and general crimes. The supervisor of the unit acts as the coordinator for the hiring process for police officers.

This unit is responsible for managing the department’s in-service training, coordination of all crime prevention programs, approval of campus alarm systems, including the 5-point security inspections, and other staff projects. This last year, Officer Mark Signa began a new program called Question Authority. He sets up presentations throughout campus and is available to answer any questions the campus community wants to ask. He also writes an occasional article for the Daily Nexus, the campus newspaper, where he lists some of the commonly asked questions and his responses to those questions.

The Community Service Organization (CSO) consists of students who work with the Police Department in serving the campus community. The CSO program began in 1972 as a communication link between the police and students, and has grown to fulfill safety and security needs of the university. CSOs provide public assistance and personal safety escorts, complete security checks, and detect safety hazards in campus facilities. CSOs also provide security for campus events and residence halls, to meet the special needs of these areas. In response to the needs of over fourteen thousand bicyclists at UCSB, CSOs conduct a comprehensive safety program of bicycle education, licensing, and enforcement. Throughout 2003, the CSOs have participated in a campaign to educate the public and regulate behavior pertaining to “Rolling Stock” (motor vehicles, bicycles, skaters, in-line skaters and skateboarders) issues in the central campus. With the increase in the on-campus housing population, the utilization of the CSOs has also increased. As a result, we have increased the CSO staffing by twenty student positions.

The Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) was initiated in 1970 in the interest of developing “community based policing” for Isla Vista. The UCSB Police Department works with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department (SBSO) and the California Highway Patrol (added in 1995) to staff the IVFP. While the SBSO maintains overall jurisdictional responsibility for Isla Vista, the UCSB Police Department and California Highway Patrol provide a cooperative role in serving the special needs of a highly diverse population of over nineteen thousand people. The UCSB Police Department also serves an important role in representing the university’s interests in matters of safety and security. The IVFP provides police uniformed public safety services on foot, bicycle and in motor vehicles.

The Records unit provides information resources to university departments and law enforcement affiliates. The Records unit serves as a “clearing house” for information developed and recorded by all units of the Police Department. Services include police record maintenance and control; employment identification processing; records liaison with other university departments.

The Communications unit provides radio and telephone support services to police personnel and the public. Services include: dispatching police department response to all calls for emergency and routine services; providing information and assistance to the public; monitoring alarm systems for fire, hazard, security, and intrusion; and maintaining crime and traffic record data systems.