Units

Officers operate full-marked Ford Explorers for a variety of tasks to support the mission of the department.  The function of patrol is to respond to calls for assistance and reports of criminal activity, act as a deterrent to crime, enforce state and university policies, identify community needs, provide support and assistance to the community, and respond to emergencies. 

The Public Safety department established the bike patrol as part of the commitment to community-based policing. The bike unit went into operation in 1994 and was the first law enforcement agency in the metro area to establish a bike patrol unit. Bike patrol officers are Iowa Law Enforcement Academy certified. The program has evolved into a popular and successful patrol innovation for both UNI police officers and the university community.

Bike unit officers are equipped with specialized police Trek Bicycles, specifically outfitted for the duties of law enforcement.  The bike unit often deploys to provide a public safety presence in large university sponsored events where the ability to move quickly through crowds is needed. Bikes have also been valuable in patrolling the pedestrian UNI central campus and in university housing. The flexibility of the bike patrol unit makes for a beneficial addition to Police Division. The bike unit has resulted in more personal contact between UNI police officers and the university community. 

Bike Unit officers are assigned to each shift, allowing 24 hours of bike coverage on campus as staffing allows.  

Building community through engagement is crucial to success of the department.  The Police Division sees the importance that foot patrols have on the community and the relationships they build.  Understanding the need to be seen as part of the community starts with positive interactions with the university community and its visitors.  The Police Division strives to ensure that officers are part of the community and are seen a resource.  Officers can be seen performing foot patrol on all three shifts, on all parts of the campus. 

The Student Patrol program began in 1990 and serve the students, faculty, staff and visitors to the UNI campus. UNI students involved in the program represent a variety of majors, including freshman through senior classifications.

Student Patrol is one of the most recognizable elements of the Department of Public Safety at UNI. They can be easily identified by their navy jackets and polo shirts. 

Student Patrol members assist the UNI Police Officers in doing all nature of tasks that free officers for their law enforcement mission. Student Patrol members play a vital role in providing safety awareness on campus through a variety of programs designed to educate the University community about safety issues and concerns. Student Patrol members are also committed to maintaining a safe learning environment for all UNI students, while safeguarding the rights of the individual.

Student Patrol operations enhance the safety of UNI and also give Student Patrol member and excellent opportunity to gain leadership experience and to impact safety issues while acting as liaisons between Public Safety and the UNI community. The nature of situations encountered by patrol members necessitate developing critical thinking and conflict management skills, both of which provide experiential learning. They also handle many administrative tasks, such as scheduling, training and managing deployment in-house, with significant opportunities and responsibilities for members.

The patrol members are provided with great experience for a future in law enforcement or other public service. Student Patrol members serve in countless federal, state and local governmental and criminal justice agencies throughout the nations.

UNI students who are in good standing with the university and are enrolled for at least six hours of credit are encouraged to apply for a Student Patrol position. Successful applicants must pass an interview process and a criminal background check. Student Patrol positions are funded through departmental funding, but students qualifying for work study are also encouraged to apply.

Application Form - complete and return to Public Safety

An important part of the Police Division is the Communications Center.  The Communications Center is staffed by highly trained professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The communications staff is comprised of 5 full-time dispatchers. The university also employs students as dispatchers.

All Dispatchers are certified through the State of Iowa as a Public Safety Telecommunicator by attending and completing training at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

The Communications Center answers telephone calls, monitors fire and intruder alarms on campus, and receives emergency communications from other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The dispatchers are trained and certified to utilize the Iowa Online Warrant and Articles / National Crime Information Center (IOWA/NCIC) computer system.  The IOWA/NCIC system provides officers with a wide array of information such as obtaining driver's license checks, license plate checks and provides the ability to check for warrants on fugitives. It also gives Police Division the ability to perform background checks and assists in investigations. The dispatchers utilize the university information systems and various other resources in assisting other law enforcement agencies, the public and investigations. 

One of the most important pieces of equipment we rely on is the radio. The Police Division is on the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS).  ISICS allows the Police Division to not only have radio communication for the entire campus but the entire state of Iowa.  ISICS allows the Police Division to communicate and contact any agency across the state of Iowa that is also on ISICS. 

The Communications Center is equipped with a surveillance camera system that contains over four hundred cameras.  The dispatchers are responsible for monitoring Rave Guardian emergency notifications, initiating a UNI Alert through the Blackboard Alert notification system, and the outdoor warning sirens.

The police division has one full-time, plain-clothes investigator and is supervised by the Associate Director. The investigative unit reviews all information regarding criminal incidents to determine if further investigation is needed. While police officers often times follow up their own cases, investigators contact reporting parties of an incident, to verify information and to conduct interviews. The information gathered during the follow-up stage supports a potential prosecution and/or university disciplinary action.

Investigations staff assist with coordinating many community initiatives and joint investigations. Investigations staff working closely with the Cedar Falls Police, Waterloo Police, Black Hawk County Attorney, Tri-County Drug Task Force, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, and a number of federal law enforcement agencies. 

UNI Police Investigators are specially trained in areas of sexual abuse, child abuse, property theft and crime scene identification. This is a rotating assignment available to all qualified police officers.