Police Department

The men and women of the UWPD are extremely proud to be part of the UW community. We embrace continuous community engagement because we are all better together.  We trust you and never want to take your trust in us for granted.  There is no doubt that events like we have witnessed across the nation can erode trust.  Our officers are outraged, as each of us should be, with the criminal behavior we have witnessed.

Racism in every form must be addressed and eliminated, both in policing and from our community, so all of us can live without fear of discrimination.  We will not just be by-standers.   It starts with internal discussions, community meetings, further educating ourselves and making active and open stands against racism.  We seek every opportunity to listen to you and to be transparent with you about our work.

The UW Police Department’s Value to the Campus Community

A key to UW’s success of sustaining a vibrant, exciting college environment is the indisputable need to maintain a safe and secure campus community. The problems of crime and violence, disorder, behavioral issues, and harassment occur on campus. The day-to-day operation of UWPD involves security and police patrols, investigating reports of criminal activity and responding to service calls.

Faced with the possibility of diminishing resources and concerns about community confidence, it is important to consider the value of the UW Police Department in ways that sometimes are not obvious to the community.

Accreditation

The UWPD is an accredited police department. UWPD meets rigid police and public safety standards established by different accrediting institutions. Similar to academic accreditation standards, there is rigorous dialogue with assigned evaluators and proofs submitted for standards in order to become accredited. The UWPD is accredited by the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA); known as the Gold Standard in Public Safety.

Community Policing and Campus Engagement

UWPD provides a singular focus on the needs of the campus community, including being responsive to expectations for the safety and security of students, faculty, and staff. The quality of UWPD’s safety and security program is directly related to the effectiveness of the partnership that exists between the UWPD, other administrative units, faculty, staff and students. Engagement includes managing parental expectations and perceptions of safety. It means accountability to our stakeholders and maintaining a balanced presence for First Amendment rights and social justice activities. And, collaboration with local, state and federal law enforcement officials with business on the UW campus and surrounding neighborhoods.

Community Engagement

UWPD has two officers assigned to promote crime prevention activities. These duties are central to providing a safe campus. Crime prevention is an integral part of the UWPD public safety program. Critical activities include security assessments, officers assigned in residence halls, community surveys, blue light phones and safety apps, social media, personal safety programs and self-defense training.

Threat Assessment and Risk Management

UWPD is a critical component in overall threat assessment and risk management at UW. UWPD partnerships with Safe Campus and Health and Counseling enhance the UW’s ability to identify persons or situations that present concerning or threatening behavior, assess their risk for engaging in harmful activities, and develop strategies to manage that risk, many times including police to stand-by to prevent violence. The UWPD Explosive Detection K-9 Unit is used to sweep all major sports and guest speaker venues. UWPD is called on to investigate all threats and works with UWIT Security and federal partners to investigate on-line threats.

Mental Health and Well-being assistance

At UW, the need for mental health resources is on the increase as it is in the general population. UWPD directs department resources to fill important roles in collaborative initiatives to address the needs of individuals who require mental health assistance or have mental illnesses. UWPD officers are specifically trained in identifying individual needs. Officers engage with empathy, compassion and have direct connections to immediate resources for a community member. Officers are empowered by law to immediately take individuals into protective custody when they are a danger to themselves or others. In addition, officers handle reports from parents unable to track down their son or daughter.

Compliance

The UWPD plays a significant role in achieving annual compliance with the Clery Act. Key to Clery Act compliance is ensuring that all the elements of the law are being addressed and that the responsibilities of and relationships among the various on and off-campus entities have been clearly documented and understood. The UWPD Major is recognized by the Department of Education as UW’s institutionally designated Clery Compliance Officer. UWPD has direct involvement in other federal areas of compliance such as Title IX, Drug Free Schools Act and the timely warning and alert notification requirements of the Clery Act. The Annual Security Report can be found here.

Emergency Preparedness

UWPD plays an important role in emergency preparedness mandates and expectations for reducing risks to the campus. UWPD participates as a member of the Emergency Operations Center coordinated response team and routinely prepares critical incident plans.

Special Events

UW has a variety of special events throughout the year. Many of these events would not be possible without the involvement of UWPD to plan, prepare, and provide staffing to ensure the safety and security of all involved. These “behind the scenes” preparations and a visible presence at events can require significant work that is often invisible to many on the campus.

Training

UWPD goes beyond the traditional state requirements for in-service training. Training is focused on a variety of topics from critical incident management to professionalism and customer service. UWPD has adopted the highest standard in crisis intervention training, moving from the state-mandated 8-hours to 40 hours of training for each employee including officers, dispatchers and support staff. Our training programs results in officers better prepared to act decisively and correctly in a broad spectrum of situations.

COVID-19 Response

You can find COVID-19 updates here.

 

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