UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

public safety

New Public Safety Director: Sara Westbrook

The Division of Student Affairs welcomes Sara Westbrook as the new director of the Department of Public Safety. Westbrook comes to UP with over 33 years of law enforcement experience, with 25 served in the Portland Police Bureau. She served as Commander of the Central Precinct, East Precinct, and the Transit Police Division. Westbrook is passionate about serving people and helping create a safe community for all of us to live, work, and study. We thank her for coming out of retirement to take on the great work of public safety at UP. All are invited to stop by and say hello to her at her office or as she is out and about getting to know the campus community.

For more information contact Fr. John Donato, C.S.C., vice president for student affairs, at donato@up.edu.

Clery Act Information Request: Please Report by May 31

To comply with federal law, specifically the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the University of Portland is required to report “statistics concerning the occurrence of the following criminal offenses reported to local police agencies, or to any official of the institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities: murder, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft,” according to Gerald Gregg, public safety. In 2015, the Violence Against Women Act added dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking to the list of crimes that must be reported. The University must also report any of these offenses that were hate crimes, as well as any other hate crimes that may have resulted in bodily injury or fear of bodily injury.

For the purposes of the Clery Act, the law broadly defines campus security officials as an employee of the institution who “has significant responsibility for student and campus activities.” Pastoral or professional counselors are exempt from reporting these crimes. Yet, in the interest of providing a more complete picture of campus crimes, pastoral and professional counselors may voluntarily share information with security/police to include in the statistics. You do not need to identify the victim.

If you are not exempt from reporting and are aware of any crimes that occurred from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 that were not reported to law enforcement, the Health Center, Campus Ministry, or the public safety department, it is important you forward that information to Gregg no later than May 31, 2019.

Please include the location of the incident, and it would be very helpful to provide the date of the incident. In addition, a brief description of the incident is needed so it can be properly classified following guidelines established by the FBI Uniform Crime Report program. A Crime Statistic Report Form and the Crime Definitions that should be used to report the incidents can be found here and here.

If you have any questions about this request, or if you would like to discuss the specifics about an incident, please contact Gregg at x7161 or via e-mail to gregg@up.edu.

Tri-Met Passes No Longer Available at Public Safety

For many years, the University has been able to sell Tri-Met bus and light rail passes through the Office of Public Safety, including subsidized monthly passes. Unfortunately, due to the imposition of new federal taxes on transportation discounts and changes in Tri-Met administrative processes, we can no longer offer this benefit to our students, faculty, or staff. There is a limited inventory of books of 10 individual tickets that public safety will sell until they are gone.

Tri-Met passes and tickets are still available at a variety of locations for those who wish to purchase them, and Tri-Met’s new Hop Fastpass system may be of interest to our community members (links below).  Questions about this change may be directed to Eric Barger, controller’s office, at barger@up.edu.

  • Where to buy link here.
  • Hopcard link here.

Your Feel-Good Story For Today: Kitten Rescue!

A report from Heidi Keller, financial aid: “Today when Janet Turner and I went out for our walk, we bumped into another University of Portland employee (I wish I knew his name), and he said “Hey, look at that kitten under the car.” When we looked the kitten had climbed up into the engine compartment. Janet and I walked into the Beauchamp Center to write a note to the owner of the car and let them know about the kitten. On the main drive we ran into Lori Watson from the controller’s office and asked if she was going to the Beauchamp Center, and she said yes, so we told her about the kitten. When I got to my office I ran into Manu Jauregui, one of our wonderful public safety officers, and I asked him if he could save the kitten. He located the student, asked her to come to her car, had her pop the hood, then reached in and rescued this little gem. The happy ending is that Lori decided to adopt the kitten and took it home with her!” Thanks for caring, Heidi and Janet and Manu and Lori, we do indeed have a remarkably wonderful crew here.

Campus Parking, Fall 2018

With the coming of fall semester, students will be returning to campus, and many will be living off campus and commuting to their classes. As in past years, parking at the University is very limited. This fall, commuters will find the parking availability further stressed. Construction of Dundon-Berchtold Hall will limit parking along the main entryway and create traffic issues until completion in 2019.

Students who commute to campus are required to park on campus, not in the surrounding neighborhood. We offer a Franz Campus Parking Incentive for students who are willing to park in the Franz Campus parking lot (previously called the River Campus parking lot). The University is offering 100 free parking permits limited to that lot only. These permits will be available on a first come, first served basis beginning August 15.  There is a shuttle that runs to and from the Franz Campus parking lot to the Pilot House and back, hours yet to be determined. Students and faculty and staff are also encouraged to explore other options for their commute, including carpooling, cycling, or public transportation.

Please contact public safety at publicsafety@up.edu for more information.

Nightmarish Summer Commute Times Approaching

According to media reports and the Oregon Department of Transportation, a number of bridge and freeway closures are likely to impact commuting times for those traveling to and from campus this summer. Public safety director Gerald Gregg recommends that employees and students who drive to campus check the ODOT link here and plan accordingly to avoid significant delays in traffic.

For example:

  • From July 8 to 23, the southbound ramp from I-5 to I-84 eastbound will be closed entirely at all times.
  • From July 25 to August 6, the ramp from I-84 westbound to I-5 northbound will be closed entirely at all times. During one of those weekends, ODOT will also close I-5 north between the Marquam and Fremont Bridges for paving.
  • From July 27 to August 27, I-84 westbound from Lloyd Center to I-5 south will be reduced to one lane of traffic.
  • Estimated I-84 commute from I-205 to I-5 between the hours of 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. is three hours. Congestion could start as far east as Troutdale, north as far as Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, and south as far as Sunnyside on I-205.

 

Clery Act Information Due by May 25

To comply with federal law, specifically the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the University is required to report “statistics concerning the occurrence of the following criminal offenses reported to local police agencies, or to any official of the institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities: murder, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.” In 2015, the Violence Against Women Act added dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking to the list of crimes that must be reported. The University must also report any of these offenses that were hate crimes, as well as any other hate crimes that may have resulted in bodily injury or fear of bodily injury.

For the purposes of the Clery Act, the law broadly defines campus security officials as employees of the institution who “have significant responsibility for student and campus activities.” Pastoral or professional counselors are exempt from reporting these crimes. Yet, in the interest of providing a more complete picture of campus crimes, pastoral and professional counselors may voluntarily share information with security/police to include in the statistics. You do not need to identify the victim.

If you are not exempt from reporting and are aware of any crimes that occurred from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 that were not reported to law enforcement, the Health Center, Campus Ministry, or the public safety department, it is important you forward that information to Gerald Gregg, public safety, no later than May 25, 2018. He will need to know the location of the incident and it would be very helpful to provide the date of the incident. In addition, a brief description of the incident is needed so it can be properly classified following guidelines established by the FBI Uniform Crime Report program.

If you have any questions about this request, or if you would like to discuss the specifics about an incident, please contact Gregg at x7161 or gregg@up.edu.

Campus Community Mass Notification Test: April 11

On April 11  the University of Portland public safety department will test the campus mass notification system. In light of recent tragedies, public safety encourages all participants in the mass notification system to take the opportunity to consider how you would respond in an actual emergency and to practice lockdown procedures for where you will be located on campus during the test. The system will test newly installed classroom telephones, which will broadcast an emergency alert, and will send messages to registered cellphones, SMS text, and email addresses.

We encourage all campus community members to view the “Shots Fired” and “Surviving an Active Shooter” videos on the Public Safety website.

For more information contact public safety at x7161.

Please Complete Employee Commute Options Survey by March 29

All full-time employees are asked to complete the Employee Commute Options (ECO) Survey to help keep the University compliant with applicable laws requiring annual surveys of transportation modes used by the campus community, according to Gerald Gregg, public safety. The ECO Survey is required to be completed every two years, according to the Department of Environmental Quality.

This quick survey will help the University understand our current commuting practices and transportation needs. We thank you in advance for taking a few moments to complete this survey, which is used to help us build better transportation options for the campus. Those who complete the survey by Thursday, March 29 will be entered into a drawing for one of two Fred Meyer gift cards. The survey can be completed using this link.

For more information contact public safety at x7161 or publicsafety@up.edu.

 

Personal Safety & Awareness Class, Nov. 13

The public safety office will offer a Personal Safety and Awareness class in the Beauchamp Center on Monday, November 13, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in Studio 30. It is free and open to all and contains very helpful information and tips to increase personal safety. For more information contact Kaitlin Bourne, recreational services, at x7294 or bourne@up.edu.