UCSF Police Chief Issues Safety and Security Message

In the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech University, questions naturally arise regarding the safety of our own community. As a public university, UCSF is uniquely challenged to strengthen our safety and security while also preserving the openness and public accessibility that we so highly value. While there are no failsafe solutions to preventing violence, we have measures in place to enhance our community's safety. These measures include: * Threat Management Team - UCSF maintains a work place violence early warning system that provides for a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluating and mitigating potential work place violence situations. * Campus Police and Security Staff - The UCSF Police Department maintains a staff of approximately 123 members, including 44 sworn police officers, dedicated to crime suppression and prevention. The Police Department provides 24 hour service every day to UCSF sites in San Francisco and San Mateo County. The department closely coordinates mutual-aide resources with neighboring police jurisdictions and other UC campuses. Additionally, the UCSF Medical Center maintains a staff of approximately 30 security guards and closely coordinates with the Police Department. * 911 Emergency Communications Center - The UCSF Police Department operates a state-of-the-art 911 Emergency Communications Center (ECC) that operates 24/7 to answer calls for assistance and dispatch appropriate public safety personnel. The ECC ensures communication between emergency responders from multiple jurisdictions * Emergency Notifications - We employ numerous emergency notification processes, including a system that sends alerts to the phones, emails, pagers and PDA's of campus leadership and Emergency Operations personnel. Also, email notification can be sent to every person at UCSF with an email address and real-time information can be posted on the Campus Emergency Hotline, which can be accessed during an emergency at (415) 502-4000. Additionally, some campus buildings are equipped with overhead alert systems. * Perimeter Building Lock-Down - In the event of an emergency, we can remotely "lock-down" any or all entry points that are on an access-control system. * Emergency Operations Center - The Police Department and Emergency Operations staff routinely conducts emergency drills and trainings. Most importantly, we rely upon the vigilance of every member of the UCSF community to help maintain a safe and secure environment. On a departmental level, managers should ensure that Emergency Action Plans remain current and staff is aware of emergency procedures. Individually, we all can contribute by wearing UCSF identification cards, immediately reporting suspicious activity (9-911), closing and locking doors appropriately and knowing our emergency procedures. If you have any questions or suggestions to further enhance safety at UCSF, please contact me or Crime Prevention Officer Steve Lubeski at 502-9396. Pamela Roskowski
Chief of Police
University of California, San Francisco
415-502-2301
Related Links: Chancellor's Statement on Virginia Tech Tragedy and Campus Security
UCSF Today, April 17, 2007 UCSF Police Department