New partnership with City of Champaign for public safety
April 20, 2022 10:01 AM

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

Last night, the Champaign City Council approved a new intergovernmental agreement that will add an important new component in the public safety partnership between the University of Illinois Police Department (UIPD) and the Champaign Police Department (CPD). The agreement will add seven new officers at UIPD, update patrol responsibilities in the Campustown area and allow CPD to respond more quickly to calls for service across the rest of the community. The new patrol arrangements will be fully implemented by October 1, 2022, and last for two years with an option for a third.

Under the proposal, UIPD will begin responding to calls in a portion of Campustown previously serviced by the CPD. This will allow the CPD to reallocate patrol resources to other parts of the community while ensuring continued public safety in the Campustown area. This adjustment will free up CPD officers to handle other priority service needs across the city and should shorten response times. The City of Champaign will reimburse the university annually to fund the additional UIPD officers needed to respond to calls in that area. The university will provide the initial funding for costs related to training, vehicles, equipment and other expenses.

UIPD will assume jurisdictional responsibility for the area bordered by Springfield Avenue on the north, Wright Street on the east, Windsor Avenue on the south and Neil Street on the west. This is a zone that is home to a large number of our students as well as a number of businesses that are largely student-focused. This new coverage area is a good geographic and operational addition, as our officers and public safety personnel have a deep working knowledge of the needs of the residents as well as existing relationships with those in this area of the community.

I am grateful to the City of Champaign for this thoughtful and forward-looking initiative to provide the service levels in Campustown and throughout the community to keep all of us safer. This agreement is a direct outgrowth of the long, cooperative and mutually respectful relationships our university and all of our surrounding communities have built together.

We look forward to working with our community to adjust our plans in ways that are best for those we serve.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor