UIPD receives high accreditation marks
URBANA, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department for the third time since 2012 has received Tier Two accreditation from the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP), the highest level of accreditation any police department in Illinois can receive. That means the department has cleared 180 stringent accreditation criteria which seek to assure that the department’s policies and practices are consistent with top industry standards and that its police officers are providing a high level of customer service to the community. “Our renewed accreditation shows that we are in line with the top industry standards in policing and, in [...]
Comfort in a crisis: Two therapy dogs join UIPD
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – Therapy K9s Lollipop and Winston will be making their debuts on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus this spring to help in crisis situations, in outreach programming and to comfort students who are dealing with high levels of stress or anxiety. The two therapy dogs joined the University of Illinois Police Department’s Community Outreach and Support Team after they and their human handlers completed the Paws and Stripes training program through the Brevard County (Florida) Sheriff’s Department. Lollipop and Winston are the department’s second and third therapy dogs after U. of I. Police Chief Alice Cary brought K9 Archie [...]
‘Party patrol’ continues its work to keep campus healthy
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – As students return to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus for the spring semester, the University of Illinois Police Department’s “party patrol” will resume its work to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. UIPD’s party patrol is a group of Student Patrol officers and police officers who have been specially assigned to respond to calls of parties in the Campustown area. They are responsible for making sure campus community members’ social gatherings are in compliance with public health regulations and campus mandates. Although the Illinois Department of Public Health recently upgraded Region 6 (which includes Champaign [...]
Officers take on new challenges and new danger related to COVID-19
URBANA, Illinois – Like many people in 2020, Officer Michelle Kaeding has a new work routine. Every morning after her patrol shift briefing, Kaeding loads some new equipment into her squad car – extra face masks, surgical gloves and hand sanitizer. She sprays the entire interior of the SUV with a special disinfectant. And then for good measure, she wipes down the more frequently touched areas. At least a few officers and potentially some community members will be in and out of that vehicle throughout the day, and she wants to keep everyone safe from COVID-19 – including herself and [...]
UIPD releases annual ‘Year In Review’ report with crime stats, more
URBANA, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department on Friday published its “Year In Review” annual report looking back at crime trends and department information for the 2019-2020 school year. The full report is available at demo.ips2.clanincreative.com/YearInReview. The report this year was specifically tailored to answer questions raised by community members in the wake of demonstrations that erupted across the country this summer, throwing policing into a national spotlight. Since that time, UIPD has received numerous questions about its policies, arrest demographics and budget expenditures. In the interest of transparency, that information was included for the first time in the [...]