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Campus Community,
We are very excited about starting another school year and welcoming back our students and campus community! DPS has been working all summer to increase our safety visibility, add safety programming, and prepare for fun university events. We added a dashboard link to our web page to better explain the number of events and incidents our DPS staff manage daily, weekly and yearly. This information helps us explain what DPS is focused on… A timely response in providing effective and compassionate safety services to our campus community. You’ll also see we’ve again teamed up with the other public safety agencies to increase visibility on and off campus.
See you in the fall!
Chief Matt Clark
Department of Public Safety
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Here's what you missed... | |
The team at the University of MN Department of Public Safety visited families at Pillsbury Court, Commonwealth Terrace Co-Op, and the Como Student Community Co-Op for National Night Out. Families were treated to freeze pops, vehicle tours, motorcycle rides with the Chief of Police, glowstick necklaces, and some pickup basketball. We had great conversations on Public Safety with residents and provided campus safety resources. | |
Members of the UMPD Bike Unit hosted two youth bike safety camps to teach children how to safely operate a bike, provided lunch, and talked about summer bike safety. Youth attendees were able to go through a fun bike operation course. | |
Splash Into Summer Water Safety Event | |
In May, members from the Department of Public Safety participated in the annual Splash Into Summer Water Safety and Lifejacket giveaway event. This years event was located at East River Flats Park, right near campus. Participating agencies provided water safety education, water safety resources, and Abbey's Hope provided free lifejackets to all attendees. | | |
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Parent & Freshman Orientation
Our Community Engagement Team presented 4 days a week on campus safety, safety resources available and education on the Department of Public Safety throughout the summer to all incoming students & their families.
The team also hosted two breakout sessions each day to provide a deeper look into specific safety resources and to answer questions from students and parents on campus safety.
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Youth Summer Camps
Members of the DPS team participated in the U of M Youth Summer Camp on campus.
Youth attendees learned about about seat belt safety, bike safety, personal safety and pedestrian safety. Attendees also got to tour police vehicles, get some safety swag, meet some of our officers, and watch a K-9 demonstration.
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Coffee with a Cop events
UMPD hosted Coffee with a Cop events throughout the summer at various locations to provide coffee, donuts, and safety resources.
Our team had great conversations around campus safety, resources available, and training opportunities available to the campus community.
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Dinkytown Safety Walks
Members of the DPS team participated in the Dinkytown Safety Walks. The safety walk teams provide information, document safety issues to provide to the city, and serve as a visual presence in Dinkytown.
The safety walks are open to everyone to attend and are held every Thursday and Saturday night from 8pm - 11pm until Thanksgiving break. The meetup location is at Frank and Andrea's pizza.
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Recruiting Fairs
Our community engagement and recruiting team members attended several recruitment fairs throughout the summer to share the exciting opportunities DPS has to offer.
To learn more about open positions and career opportunities with the Department of Public Safety, visit the link below.
Click this link to learn about open opportunities
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U of MN Farmers Market
Each week members of the DPS Community Engagement team setup a resource booth at the UMN Farmers Market to share important safety resources and have public safety discussions with the campus community.
The UMN Farmers Market is held every Wednesday until September 27th from 9:30am - 1pm located on the McNamara Plaza. Stop by to visit us!
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UMPD Annual Awards Ceremony | |
The University of Minnesota Department of Public Safety holds an annual awards banquet for all DPS employees. Employees are recognized in various categories. This year's award recipients are listed below. | |
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Chief’s Distinguished Service Award
Officer Lara Bauer
U Security Employee of the Year
Robert Gay
PSECC Employee of the Year
Dispatcher Karen Krushke
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Life Saving Awards
Officer Chris Fonseca
Security Advisor Brent Fox
Officer Aaron Keller
Officer Gulamali Khasanov
Dispatcher Terri Kilbin
Officer Steve Kragt
Dispatcher Karen Krushke
Lieutenant Ashlee Lange
Officer Phil Lombardi
Dispatcher Julia Mosby
Sergeant Andy Panek
Officer Ryan Riesslman
Operator Dan Schumacher
Officer Meng Vang
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Medal of Merit
Sergeant Tom Bohrer
Officer Jonas Hanggi
Investigator Luke Huck
Officer Aaron Keller
Officer John McElroy
Officer Mark McElroy
Sergeant Matt Quast
Officer Kay Temple
Officer of the Year
Bryan Kotschevar
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UMPD through (Intern)ational Eyes
with Paidamoyo Chikate
I would like to extend a warm welcome to the entire campus community, whether it's your first year or you are returning, welcome. Throughout the summer we conducted safety and resource presentations throughout campus for our incoming international students to provide a connection and education on the safety resources available on campus.
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Crime Prevention
with Nick Juarez
Creating a safety plan is essential to help reduce the opportunity of a crime happening to you. It is important to take the time to learn your strengths and weaknesses for yourself and your home/work. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” Sun Tzu, The Art of War “
What are your strengths? Are you aware of current crime trends and potential threats in your area?; Do you know how to call/text 911?; Are you aware of the locations of blue phones around campus?; Do you use 624-WALK; Do you walk with confidence?; Are you aware of your surroundings and are you paying attention?; Are you limiting distractions?
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Recruiting & Mentorship
with Christina Mignone
It’s an honor to serve the Department of Public Safety. I have spent the last few months building relationships within the community on and off campus, developing recruitment strategies and mentoring law enforcement students, including DPS staff interested in entering the police profession. My goal has been to help refine and increase the quality of hire, networking, and providing more visibility in recruitment marketing efforts. We have participated in several career fairs, networking with other community partners that work within recruitment to collaborate on retention efforts. I had the opportunity to speak in three classrooms with students from Northeast Metro Intermediate School District 916 Career and Tech Center that are attending law enforcement and criminal justice classes educating them on life in policing, the opportunities within DPS and education with U of M. I will continue to strive towards making a positive impact in the law enforcement profession through recruitment, engagement and mentorship efforts, helping prepare the next generation. If you are interested in law enforcement, please contact me here, it’s going to be a great year!
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Community Connections
with Dillon Gherna
Welcome back to campus students! Our team in community engagement has had a busy summer around the University Community planning events for the upcoming school year. We are excited to engage with you all this year.
We have a bunch of events planned such as coffee with a cop, energy pop up stations, ice cream social, tailgating, farmers market tabling, gopher sporting event engagement, and so much more!
Our team shares a ton of important resources and information on our social media channels, I would encourage you all to follow us @UMNPUBLICSAFETY.
Additionally, I am here as a resource for the entire University of Minnesota community, building relationships, providing resources, and supporting our collective goals to keep U safe.
Don't hesitate to reach out anytime.
Go Gophers!
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Learn more about Community Liaison Dillon Gherna here | |
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Community Crime
with Courtney - DPS Crime Analyst
The graph depicts year to date (Jan 1 to August 14) violent crime reported on campus. It compares reported violent crime during the same time frame over a 5 year period (2019-2023).
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Welcome our new Community Service Officers
Pictured above: Community Service Officers Devon Olson, Alex Petersen, Alex Vollbrecht, Jack Guerrette
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Welcome our new U-Security team members
Pictured above: Security Operations Manager Gabe, Security Advisor Ted, Security Advisor Marshall, Student Security Monitor Jeni, Student Security Monitor Angel
Not Pictured: Security Advisors David, Tyler, Abdullah, Wyatt, Tristen and Student Security Monitors Jack, Hannah
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Join the Department of Public Safety by creating your own Gopher Plunge team to plunge into the "cold" water and raise money for Special Olympics of Minnesota.
To start your own team, visit this link: CREATE A TEAM
All funds raised by the DPS team and other teams goes directly to support Minnesota athletes to compete in the special olympics. If you are interested in donating to our team fundraising efforts you can do so by visiting this link: DONATE TO DPS TEAM
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Self Defense Workshops
with Tierra Prescott
Self Defense Workshops are offered throughout the academic year. They cover personal safety awareness and how to stay vigilant. Participants are shown simple self-defense moves and are given a chance to practice.
Students, faculty and staff can sign up for upcoming workshops.
We have upcoming workshops! Our next workshop will be held in September at the University Recreation and Wellness Center. To sign up to attend a workshop please follow this link HERE
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Campus Safety Resource Video
The University Department of Public Safety launched a new campus safety resource video for the campus community to learn about safety resources available to you on campus.
You can view it by clicking the video or visiting:
https://z.umn.edu/safetyvideo
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624-WALK (Safety Escort Service)
Request a safe walk from a trained University Security employee, please call 612-624-WALK (9255), or 4-WALK from any campus phone. You can also visit this link to request online. Available 24/7/365.
RAVE Guardian App
Rave Guardian is a free smart-phone app that provides University of Minnesota students, faculty and staff with access to Virtual Escorts and other helpful safety and security resources on campus.
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SAFETY GUIDES
Safety Guides from Block by Block are actively patrolling in Dinkytown Thursday through Saturday nights
BLUE EMERGENCY LIGHTS
If you see the blue light kiosks and are in need of help, press the help button.
The blue light kiosks offer a direct contact to 911 dispatchers and provide the exact location of the kiosk, as well as give the ability to view the camera attached.
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SMART 911 APP
Smart911 is a free service that allows you to provide additional details that 9-1-1 dispatchers may need in order to assist you during an emergency. With Smart911, anytime you make an emergency call from a phone registered with your Safety Profile, the 9-1-1 systems recognizes your phone number and automatically displays your profile on the screen of the dispatcher who receives your call.
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Active Threat Presentations & Online Training Course | |
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The Department of Public Safety recently launched an online Active Threat training course that can be taken through canvas. If you are interested in taking this training, please click the button below.
*Note: You must have a UM email address to enroll in the training*
The police department also offers presentations and information on responding to an active threat on campus. To set up a presentation, please fill out a Community Outreach Officer form and indicate you would like an active threat presentation.
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Scan the QR code or click the button to the take the online active threat training | |
Department of Public Safety - Community Engagement Team | |
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Pictured above left to right: Nick Juarez (DPS Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Christina Mignone (Recruiting, Engagement, Mentorship) Lt. Long Xiong (Lieutenant of Community Engagement) Officer Chris Fonseca (Community Engagement) Dillon Gherna (Community Engagement Liaison)
*Not Pictured: Tierra Prescott (DPS Student Intern) Paida Chikate (DPS International Student Intern)
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The policing climate and community expectations continue to evolve and change. Our team wants to connect with you, we are in a time where positive collective efforts are needed.
To learn more about Community Engagement contact Lieutenant Long Xiong at xiong606@umn.edu
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