University of Illinois Police Department

2016 Year In Review

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Table of contents

Message from the Chief (3) Police Chief Jeff Christensen’s introduction and reflections on the 2015-2016 year

Retirements and New Employees (4) Division of Public Safety staffers who came and went during the past year

Sexual Assault On Campus (5) More info about the department’s Special Victims Unit and how it helps survivors

How Illinois Compares (6) Clery crime stats in context with 21 schools with similar size, circumstances and mission

Remembering Quinty (7) UIPD lost a good dog and partner in 2016 — but not before one last drug bust

By The Numbers (8) A quick look at Smoke-Free Campus enforcement and security cameras

Notable Initiatives (9) How UIPD is working with others to target violence and build positive relationships

Planning For The Worst (10) The Office of Emergency Management gives advance thought to unthinkable scenarios

Annual Award Recipients (11) Recognizing Division of Public Safety staff who went above and beyond the call of duty

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Social Media Overview (12) UIPD is using social media to connect with the community and identify criminals

Resources (13) A directory of emergency and other resources available in the community

Message from the Chief

On behalf of all members of the University of Illinois Division of Public Safety, I am honored to have the opportunity to present our 2016 Annual Report. The information detailed in these pages reflects a summary of our activities and accomplishments in addition to trends and challenges we face as a community. The ability to maintain an attractive quality of campus life is directly tied to the university’s position and reputation as a safe place to live and study. Our mission to promote a safe and secure environment where education, research and public service can flourish is accomplished only with the partnership and assistance of our community.

Relationships with our community are cultivated in a positive and healthy manner based upon our values of justice, respect and integrity. Our current strategic plan to address violent crime, overall campus safety and preparedness centers on a four-prong effort: community-based personnel and increased visibility; crime prevention and analysis through continuous education and best practices; addressing critical emergency planning needs including reliable notification systems, building action and business continuity plans; and embracing technology to prevent crime, increase case clearance rates, and improve overall public safety and service.

I continue to be amazed and moved by the staff of the Division of Public Safety. With their seemingly unlimited passion to serve and protect, coupled with a persistent level of professionalism and compassion, each member of the Division is crucial to our ability to effectively satisfy day-to-day operational needs and respond to very challenging incidents.

The past year reinforced that we are fortunate in our area to have exceptional relationships with our partner first-responders from the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Champaign County, and our state and federal agencies. We sincerely treasure and value these relationships, and I believe they are critical to maintaining everyday safety in the places where we live, work, study and socialize.

On behalf of the Division of Public Safety, thank you for your continued support and assistance.

Sincerely,

Jeff Christensen

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Chief of Police

Retirements and New Employees

Retirements

DEPUTY CHIEF SKIP FROST (28 YEARS) - Retired February 2016

LIEUTENANT STEVE TRAME (28 YEARS) - Retired July 2015

SERGEANT JASON EVERSOLE (27 YEARS) - Retired July 2015

SERGEANT TIM HARPER (24 YEARS) - Retired April 2016

OFFICER STEVE MECHLING (21 YEARS) - Retired December 2015

SECURITY OFFICER BRETT BYRD (16 YEARS) - Retired June 2016

New Employees

OFFICER ED CHEVERE - Started June 2015

OFFICER TAYLOR FRANZEN - Started June 2015

OFFICER MICHELLE KAEDING - Started June 2015

TELECOMMUNICATOR WILLIAM ROSE - Started June 2015

TELECOMMUNICATOR DANIEL LEAKE - Started June 2015

IT ASSOCIATE MATTHEW ESCHBACH - Started May 2016

OFFICER MIA KAIM - Started June 2016

OFFICER KENT JONES - Started June 2016

OFFICER PETER MILINKOVIC - Started June 2016

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Sexual Assault On Campus

Special Victims Unit aims to help sexual assault survivorsBY ROCHELLE WILSON

Dealing with a traumatizing situation can be a catalyst for a mental shutdown. Particularly, in the case of sexual assault, survivors are forced to cope with anxiety while navigating the ambiguity of an unclear night, a rush of emotions and the possibility of legal proceedings.

A select group of University of Illinois Police Department officers aimed to take on the task of helping survivors find healing amidst the chaos. These UIPD officers opted to go through a rigorous and more thorough training focused on teaching them how to follow up and investigate sexual assault cases.

“How you interview someone who just went through a traumatizing situation will be much different than from someone who has dealt with petty theft,” said Detective Sgt. Gene Moore.

The development of the UIPD Special Victims Unit came through a recognition that sexual assaults were occurring on prevalent basis on college campuses nationwide. National surveys estimate that one in five women and one in sixteen men experience sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in college, and U. of I. Police detectives wanted to do a better job of responding to it.

UIPD’s main goal is to help give the survivors a sense of regaining control in their lives and in the investigation. If they are willing and comfortable, UIPD encourages survivors to file a report even if they are unsure if they want to move forward in the case at the current moment. Doing so makes it easier to reopen the case rather than opening it up months down the line with evidence that possibly does not exist anymore.

The important caveat is that the department understands that survivors may change their mind about pursuing a criminal investigation at any time, and investigators do everything they can to respect that decision. The goal is to put survivors in charge of how an investigation does or does not proceed.

“I had a very positive experience when working with Detective (Rachael) Ahart. She never made me feel uncomfortable and always listened to my concerns,” said U. of I. senior Lincy Pompilus and President of Students Against Sexual Assault (SASA).

Detectives also understand that not everyone may feel reporting to the police is the right decision for them, and UIPD encourages survivors to seek out resources they are comfortable with.

UIPD also aims to be inclusive as possible and is fully interactive with other sexual assault prevention resources on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community such as Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services (R.A.C.E.S), the University of Illinois Women’s Resources Center, and Courage Connection.

The department recognizes that these resources are essential to spreading awareness and helping survivors after an assault has occurred. Police believe these partnerships create a stronger presence in the fight against sexual assault while educating the campus community.

“As unfortunate as it may sound, we will never be done teaching students about the importance of sexual assault awareness on this campus.” said Detective Moore. “Every four years there is a new set of students on campus whose perceptions are different.”

Those interested in helping prevent sexual assault on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus can do so by exploring the university’s many resources, such as FYCARE or It’s On Us at Illinois.

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Visit the At Illinois, We Care website at wecare.illinois.edu for more information on sexual misconduct support, response, and prevention.

How Illinois Compares

All universities are required to report and publish certain crime statistics from their campuses. We’ve compiled 2014 numbers — the most recently published statistics — from 21 schools comparable in size, mission and location to see where Illinois falls among its peers. Our conclusion: The Illinois campus ranks near the middle or better in many key categories. Illinois recorded the most (tied with Rutgers) reports in our 21-school survey only in one category, aggravated assault, but continues to see year-to-year reductions in that area.

For a complete listing of statistics and the schools included in the comparison, please visit police.illinois.edu/clerystats. For more information about the Clery Act and our crime reporting obligations, please review our Annual Security and Fire Safety report online at police.illinois.edu/clery.

Crime Illinois Median Highest in the surveyRobbery 10 5 45Aggravated assault 20 13 20Rape 12 21 48Fondling 2 10 59Domestic violence 19 6 71Stalking 3 17 32Hate crimes 1 2 12Burglary 14 36 133Motor vehicle theft 2 12 55Arson 4 2 13Weapons arrests 1 3 34

Liquor violations – arrests versus referrals

- Illinois: 147 arrests, 600 referrals- Average, all schools: 193 arrests, 888 referrals

Drug violations – arrests versus referrals

- Illinois: 125 arrests, 299 referrals- Average, all schools: 117 arrests, 191 referrals

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Remembering Quinty

U. of I. Police says goodbye to a good dogK9 Quinty passes after one last bustThe University of Illinois Police Department in April mourned the sudden loss of one of its own after K9 Quinty passed — but not before he made one last drug bust.

The 10-year-old police dog had been experiencing some health issues earlier in the week. He returned to work after being checked out by a veterinarian, and police were awaiting test results.

Those health issues resurfaced early April 9 while Quinty was on duty. He was rushed to the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine clinic, but nothing could be done. K9 Officer Doug Beckman and his family had the opportunity to say goodbye, and several officers gathered to give Quinty a final salute.

“We are very saddened by the sudden loss, and our thoughts of course are with Quinty’s handler and his family,” said U. of I. Police Chief Jeff Christensen said at the time. “Handlers and their dogs are very close. They truly are partners, and Quinty was part of his handler’s family. He was part of the UIPD family.”

Before passing, he had one last drug bust. Friday night, Quinty located a number of MDMA hits while conducting a vehicle search in Urbana.

“We’re glad Quinty got one last good night at work,” Christensen. “Their lives revolve around keeping our community safer, and they really love doing what they’re trained to do. It’s what brings them joy.”

Quinty, a Belgian Malinois, had spent eight years as the University of Illinois Police Department’s drug-sniffing dog. He spent most of those as part of its Target Response Unit, tasked with taking drugs, weapons and violent offenders off the street.

Quinty was instrumental in finding countless amounts of narcotics and other drugs throughout Champaign-Urbana. He regularly assisted the Champaign and Urbana police departments and the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.

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By The Numbers

A quick look at two issues which received a lot of attention from the campus community during the 2015-2016 school year:

Security cameras

About 1,444 cameras are installed on campus property, with plans for 200 more in the next year. In June 2016, the city of Champaign agreed to the installation of 8 cameras on city property along Green and Sixth streets.

In 2015, camera footage was used in 54 cases. Arrests were made in 12 specifically because of the camera image.

In 24 cases, camera footage helped corroborate information developed by the officer.

Smoke-free campus

Beginning in 2015, state law required the university to enforce the Smoke-Free Campus Act.

From May 2015 to May 2016, the Division of Public Safety wrote 357 citations for smoking violations.

Of those, 322 were for a first offense, carrying no fine. 29 were for a second offense ($25 fine) and 6 were a third offense ($50 fine).

355 citations were written by security officers and 2 by sworn police officers.

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Notable Initiatives

Targeted Response Unit confronts off-campus violenceBY LT. JOSEPH MCCULLOUGH

The UIPD Targeted Response Unit is comprised of one narcotics detective, one narcotics K9 handler, and two street crimes detectives. The unit reports to the evening shift lieutenant and is supervised by a sergeant. One of the street crimes detective positions remains unfilled.

In 2015, the mission of the unit remained unchanged, but the short term focus majorly shifted. With shots fired calls and shootings being reported at an alarming rate in the off-campus Champaign County community, the Targeted Response Unit sergeant and street crimes detective were assigned to the newly formed Champaign County Street Crimes Task Force. Members of the task force include Champaign Police, Urbana Police, Champaign County Sheriff’s Police, and UIPD. The goal of this unit is to combat the gun crimes which are seriously affecting areas of the greater Champaign-Urbana community. Task force members provides intel to UIPD patrol officers who use this information to continue to proactively patrol campus to ensure the university area remains as safe as possible.

The unit’s narcotics investigations continued throughout the year, although with the reduction in staffing the investigations concentrated on working with patrol officers to combat trends in the residence halls and surrounding Campustown apartments.

‘Adopt-A-Cops’ build positive relationships with campus units

In 2015, the University of Illinois Police Department launched its Adopt-A-Cop program to build authentic, working relationships with groups on campus.

The department paired officers with the Bruce D. Nesbitt African-American Cultural Center, the Asian-American Cultural Center, La Casa, LGBT Resources, Native American House, Women’s Resources Center and Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education. The “Adopt-A-Cops” will visit those areas often.

“By getting our officers to those cultural houses, we’re hoping they’ll form those bonds and relationships so people can ask questions,” said

Lt. Joan Fiesta. “There’s great value in this for both the students and the officers who get to develop those relationships.”

Photo: Sgt. Laura Tison and Officer Adam Thompson have been “adopted” by the Native American House on campus.

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Emergency Management

Planning for the worstBY PATRICK WADE

Emergencies can happen anywhere, and at any time. The Emergency Management bureau at the University of Illinois Police Department works full-time to prepare for the eventual campus emergency, whether it is fire, severe weather or another kind of active threat.

In recent years, the four-person team has coordinated the completion of 325 (and counting) building emergency action plans, which are documents designed to assist building occupants with their emergency planning and response efforts.

The effort is no small task – OSHA regulations require continuous updating of contact lists, emergency procedures, and ongoing training, among other mandates. The four-person Emergency Management team is responsible for training thousands of people and keeping hundreds of building plans up to date.

Any single violation could result in fines up to $10,000 per day, per violation. Lt. Todd Short believes the aggressive planning efforts in recent years have saved the university upwards of $1 million.

“There’s a huge amount of data we have to capture to make sure we’re in compliance,” Short said. “It takes a very proactive office filled with tenacious people to accomplish this.”

The team has taken steps to streamline that process – a fill-in-the-blank template on the University of Illinois Police website to make completing the plan simple. “It’s like TurboTax,” Short says. UIPD also provides video-taped training for employees who cannot be in attendance at in-person training sessions.

But even more important than staying in compliance is ensuring students, faculty, staff and visitors are ready for any emergency that may happen. Severe weather is a constant concern in central Illinois, and college campuses are a regular target for people who want to do harm to others.

The emergency plans give forethought to assembly areas, storm refuge areas and the ways people communicate during emergencies in their buildings. They also outline procedures for building occupants about what to do in an emergency.

“These are situations where your ability to act quickly can save your life,” Short said. “It just takes five to ten minutes to review your building’s emergency action plan.”

A good place to start that review is at police.illinois.edu/safe.

Photo: The Emergency Management bureau coordinates the massive campus emergency planning effort. The team includes (from left) Lt. Todd Short, emergency planning coordinator Sherry Wooten, emergency training coordinator Stephanie Vogelsang and business continuity planner Jason Heimbaugh.

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Annual Awards Recipients

FITNESS RECOGNITION AWARDJeffery McCracken

LIFE SAVING AWARDCharli M. Wike, Jillian MarinoEric VogtSteve Mechling, John Wright

COMMENDATION AWARDRyan SnowLaura TisonRachael AhartElma HalpinChuck HoskinsAlisha Funkhouser-WalkerA.J. Martin (2)Elma HalpinKristi Mecum

MERIT AWARDAdam ThompsonChris ElstonRick BellJames CarterDoug BeckmanRyan SnowEric StiversonJustin Age (3)Michelle Ortiz (8)Rob Benoit (2)Grant Briggs (5)George Sandwick (2)Brian Tison (2)Mike Unander (2)Eric Vogt (5)James Scheel (3)Matt BallingerElma Halpin (2)Ryan Lepp (2)Aaron LandersBen Wood

CITIZEN COMMENDATION AWARDMelisa WuScott LeonCaitlin Quillen

EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY POLICINGRodney MitchellBarb RobbinsBeth Visel

CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE OF THE YEARAlex Howard

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY RECOGNITION AWARDPatrick Wade

PUBLIC SAFETY RECOGNITION AWARDBrian Farber

CAMPUS EMERGENCY PLANNING RECOGNITION AWARDKrissy Pettigrew

LORRAINE “CATHY” ACEVEDO AWARDKim Hodges

STUDENT PATROL OFFICER OF THE YEARAlex Tran

STUDENT PATROL COMMENDATIONAlejando CruzZaid HameedDaniel KundeVladimir PotiyevskiyJustin SmithKacper WiszowatyAlex Tran

SECURITY OFFICER OF THE YEARGreg Snipes

RALPH F. HAMLIN OFFICER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Michelle Ortiz has been an officer with UIPD since 2002. During her time, she has been involved in numerous areas of the department, including METRO, crime scene technician, honor guard, R.A.D., less-lethal instructor, fitness program, strategy and tactics, and control tactics. Outside of the department, Officer Ortiz contributes by volunteering her time giving motivational speeches at the Lincoln’s Challenge Academy and mentoring at-risk youth.

Officer Ortiz consistently approaches her job with her best effort no matter the task or the risk. She is community-based in that her passion is keeping our students and all community members safe. She has excelled in her efforts to make the streets of campus and the entire Champaign-Urbana area safer. Officer Ortiz has removed numerous violent and armed offenders from the campus area, ensuring a safer environment for students, staff, and community members.

Officer Ortiz has made a conscious effort at both self-improvement and the improvement of those around her. There are numerous accounts of how her efforts are noticed and that those improvements are easily recognized. Those improvements include both the way she approaches her work and the way in which she interacts with those around her. Many that work with Officer Ortiz view her as a valuable source of information, a level of excellence and professionalism to attempt to achieve, and a leader and mentor.

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Social Media

Social media useful in identifying offendersBY PATRICK WADE

Online crowdsourcing has been a useful tool for investigators, who turned to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media 15 times between July 2015 and June 2016.

They found success in six of those cases, which ran the spectrum from property crime to theft and assault.

The speed of social media was on display, too. At 11:30 a.m. July 2, 2015, police were called to a bus stop near Orchard Downs in Urbana, where a woman reported a man had exposed her genitals to her while she was passing on a bicycle.

After detectives collected security camera images from the bus stop, investigators seeking to identify the man in the pictures reached out to the public via Facebook at about 4:30 p.m. July 8. Around 5 p.m., someone who had seen the Facebook post called police to identify the man. By 5:12 p.m., the offender was in handcuffs, and he later pleaded guilty to the crime.

The most widely-read post came on February 8, 2016, when UIPD posted video of a woman tampering with a large menorah on the front lawn of the Illini Chabad Center for Jewish Life. To date, 63,258 people have seen the post on Facebook alone. Another 1,770 viewed it on Twitter. Within a couple hours of the post, the offender had been identified.

In total, UIPD investigators reached more than 140,000 people on Facebook alone in 15 posts seeking to identify offenders.

By The Numbers

Since July 1, 2015, UIPD has posted 15 times seeking criminal offenders. Six of those cases were solved.

The most viewed post was seen by more than 63,000 Facebook users, the bulk of the total 142,000 Facebook views on posts asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects.

In one case, a public indecency offender was identified and in handcuffs just 42 minutes after his image was posted.

Building an online community: Top posts from 2015-2016

718 likes, 28,112 reached: On May 4, 2016 (widely known as “Star Wars Day” for which the #MayThe4thBeWithYou hashtag is used), Officer Shawn Johnson was called to the Quad to deal with a storm trooper and his prop blaster. The Facebook post explained that “we found his lack of identification disturbing.”

47,258 reached, 1,164 video plays: For Sexual Assault Awareness Month, UIPD posted video from the Red Flag Campaign, in which police and staff from the Women’s Resources Center describe the “red flags” which may signify an abusive dating relationship.

62,548 reached, 1,774 likes: On Sept. 5, 2015, Officer Adam Thompson ran to stop a young boy who was about to ride his bike into a busy intersection. A witness the act wrote her thanks “to a policeman who did an amazing duty this past Saturday.” The 18-second security video was viewed for a total of 10,035 minutes.

39,398 reached, 2,197 clicks: A YouTube video posted on Feb. 29, 2016 — four days in advance of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day — shared alcohol safety tips and images from UIPD’s and other departments’ “Walk As One” campaign to distribute information to students.

13,074 reached, 502 likes: For Valentine’s Day 2016, Sgt. Laura Tison and Officer Brian Tison shared their love story, which began at UIPD and eventually led to this, as Laura tells it: “We went to a nice restaurant and part way through the dinner, he held out a ring box and asked me to marry him. ... No brainer, I said yes.”

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Resources

POLICE Emergency 911

Non-emergency 217-333-8911

University of Illinois Police 1110 W. Springfield Ave. Urbana, IL 61801 217-333-1216 police.illinois.edu police@illinois.edu

Champaign Police Department 82 E. University Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 217-351-4545 ci.champaign.il.us/departments/police/police@ci.champaign.il.us

Urbana Police Department 400 S. Vine St. Urbana, IL 61801 217-384-2320 urbanaillinois.us/police

SAFEWALKS 217-333-1216 go.illinois.edu/SafeWalks

SAFERIDES 217-265-7433 (265-RIDE) cumtd.com/riding/saferides

COUNSELING CENTER Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Turner Student Services Building 610 E. John St. Champaign, IL 61820 217-333-3704 counselingcenter.illinois.edu

Alcohol and Other Drug Office 217-333-7557

RAPE ADVOCACY, COUNSELING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (R.A.C.E.S.) 300 S. Broadway Ave. (Lincoln Square Mall) Suite 154A Urbana, IL 61801 217-344-6298 cu-races.org

Rape Crisis Hotline 217-384-4444

AT ILLINOIS, WE CARE Sexual Misconduct Support, Response and Prevention wecare.illinois.edu

OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ACCESS (TITLE IX OFFICE) 1004 S. Fourth St. Champaign, IL 61820 217-333-0885 diversity.illinois.edu diversity@illinois.edu

COURAGE CONNECTION Domestic Violence Services 508 E. Church St. Champaign, IL 61820 217-352-7151 courageconnection.org Domestic Violence Hotline 217-384-4390 or 877-384-4390

OFFICE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS Student Assistance Center Emergency Dean 300 Turner Student Services Building 610 E. John St. Champaign, IL 61820 217-333-0050 odos.illinois.edu

MCKINLEY HEALTH CENTER 1109 S. Lincoln Ave. Urbana, IL 61801 217-333-2701 mckinley.illinois.edu

WOMEN’S RESOURCES CENTER 703 S. Wright St. Champaign, IL 61820 217-333-3137 go.illinois.edu/wrc womenscenter@illinois.edu

SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE 800-273-8255 (800-273-TALK)

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