Traffic advisory: Race events to affect campus routes beginning Thursday
Campus routes will be heavily affected by the Illinois Marathon events beginning Thursday and running through Saturday. Drivers should expect heavy traffic late Thursday afternoon and evening around the area of the Activities and Recreation Center, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, where the race expo will be held. Those who are not attending the expo are encouraged to avoid First Street and Peabody Drive if possible, beginning at 3:30 p.m. For those attending the expo, parking will be available in Lot 31 off First Street, immediately west of Memorial Stadium. Broader street closures will begin Friday afternoon in advance of [...]
UIPD focused on stopping distracted drivers this week
Each day, 10 people are killed in distracted driving crashes - contributing to the 37,000 people killed in crashes on U.S. roadways during 2016, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). To help bring attention to the dangers associated with driving distracted, the University of Illinois Police Department announced today it will again participate this week in Illinois Distracted Driving Awareness Week (April 23-27) and conduct an enforcement campaign of Illinois’ distracted driving laws. “The number of people hurt in distracted driving accidents is a really troubling statistic and something we take very seriously,” said U. of I. [...]
Public safety employees honored for dedication, good work
Officer James Scheel has been named as the University of Illinois Police Department’s officer of the year for 2018, and a number of his colleagues also received recognition for their good work during the past year. The Ralph F. Hamlin Officer of the Year award is named for the officer who spent 16 of his 26 years in law enforcement at the University of Illinois Police Department and displayed unmatched professionalism, good-natured demeanor and tenacious investigative skills. It is awarded to UIPD officers who provides consistently positive performance of their duties and for his or her conscientious efforts at self-improvement. [...]
Mental health crisis intervention officers receive award
Champaign County’s Crisis Intervention Team officers were recently recognized by a community partner for their work connecting individuals with mental and behavioral health needs to the appropriate resources. Increasingly, police get the first call when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. More than 100 Crisis Intervention Team officers across the various Champaign County law enforcement agencies are specially trained to recognize when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis and to respond appropriately. In April, Champaign County Health Care Consumers presented the county’s Crisis Intervention Team officers with the Harry J. Baker Community Service Award for that work. Captain Karee Voges [...]
Getting to know Officer A.J. Martin
We had 11 questions for Officer A.J. Martin in our ongoing series to get to know Division of Public Safety staff members: How long have you worked for the Division of Public Safety? Since January 2012 What's a typical day like for you? At work, I try to focus on specific behaviors that put other pedestrians and cars at risk like speeding, texting while driving, and disobeying stop signs. When I'm able to, I like to follow-up on reports I take like thefts, criminal damage, and mental health crises. At home, I spend as much time as I can with [...]