Community Engagement

UICPD hosted their annual Cop on the Rooftop initiative with Special Olympics Illinois. Special Olympics Illinois again has raised over $1 million dollars statewide. UICPD were able to raise nearly $2,000 at our location at 1651 W. Roosevelt Rd. (Ashland and Roosevelt). The site was the central location for media coverage and even received a visit from Chicago Bears player, Cole Kmet! Our site was featured on Fox News Chicago, WGN, and other media/radio outlets!

The funds raised through this initiative will directly support the extraordinary and talented athletes of Special Olympics Illinois. Your contributions will play a vital role in providing them with the necessary resources, opportunities, and encouragement to pursue their dreams and excel in their respective sports.

UICPD with Pawfficer Ham partnered with Chicago Police Department’s 12^th District to participate in the community event National Night Out. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer. The event provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

UICPD with Pawfficer Ham partnered with UIC’s Housing Resident Directors to offer a themed of belonging and self-care. The event offered calming music, interacting with Pawfficer Ham, eating warm cookies and craft making! The event created a calm atmosphere for residents to feel safe and comfortable while interacting with each other while also learning about campus safety resources.

UICPD participated in Suicide Prevention Week – promoting Suicide Prevention month by hosting Suicide Prevention Week resource tables throughout the campus. The resource tables provided mental health resources, suicide awareness giveaways and time to connect with Pawfficer Ham. The tables were located in the common area of the Academic and Residential Comple (ARC), James Stukel Towers (JST) and Student Center East.

UICPD facilitated a partnership with UIC’ Office of Sustainability and Ride Illinois to provide cycling education and tips from League Certified Instructors, offer free cycling gear, helmets, and bike lights as giveaway provided by Ride Illinois. The event created an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to network and connect with fellow cyclists and learn about campus initiatives bicycle / scooter theft prevention strategies and how to register their bikes / scooter with the university. Overall, the event promoted cycling, provided education, and offered resources to the UIC community, supporting the university’s sustainability and urban transportation goals.

For the month of October UICPD participated in Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This year UICPD partnered with Deborah’s Place, a local women’s homeless shelter, to collect high need items identified by the shelter.

Annually UICPD participates in a fun scavenger hunt day of Trick or Treating in Student Center East that gave students an opportunity to walk the campus. All participants were given a stamp or punch card with all the Student Center East departments on it, where students had the opportunity to go around the building and find each department on the card. This event allowed UICPD the opportunity to talk to the students about safety resources and our new Campus Safety Resource Center.

This year UICPD, with therapy dog Pawfficer Ham, participated in the UIC Daley Library’s Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest. With the most votes by students, faculty and staff, Pawfficer Ham won this year’s costume contest!

Later in the day. UICPD Officers decorated the squad car and participated in a pop-up community-based truck or treat with the neighborhood businesses and area youth.

UICPD hosted the Annual Holiday Initiative. UICPD again collaborated with its community partner and neighborhood school, John M. Smyth Elementary, to support the students and families during the holiday season. The students had the opportunity to create a “wish list” of 3 – 5 items they would like to receive for the holidays in a letter to Santa. This holiday season UICPD was able to sponsor an entire 3rd grade class, a total of 27 students. During the students’ last day of school, UICPD personnel made a visit to the school to witness the joy of the students opening their gifts received. As an extra treat, the students were able to enjoy the appearance of Santa’s newest helper, UICPD Therapy Dog Pawfficer Ham.

UICPD has increased intentionality with recruiting for department personnel that includes, but not limited to Police Officers, Police Telecommunicators and UIH Security Guards/Officers. UICPD partnered with UIC’s Criminal, Law, and Justice (CLJ) department to participate in their monthly newsletters. UICPD also participated in CLJ’s Unveiling Careers Panel discussion with an audience of CLJ students interested in furthering their careers.

UICPD facilitated a partnership with UIC Athletics and community partner and neighborhood school, John M. Smyth Elementary to establish a pilot mental health initiative with the school’s 7th/8th grade girls. Through this partnership the goal is to provide mentorship, exposure and awareness of mental health resources through athletics and other activities.

For UICPD’s Annual Holiday Initiative, the department again collaborated with community partner and neighborhood school, John M. Smyth Elementary, to support its students and families during the holiday season. UICPD sponsored an entire third grade class of 35 students who wrote letters to Santa with a “wish list” of 3 – 5 items they would like to receive for the holidays. During the students’ last day of school, UICPD personnel visited the classroom to see the students open their gifts. As an extra treat, the students were able to meet Santa’s newest helper, UICPD Therapy Dog Pawfficer Ham.

In honor of breast cancer awareness month, UICPD hosted its biannual Breast Cancer Awareness
Bake Sale. The bake sale goal is to bring members of the UIC community together while
raising awareness for this very important cause through the donation of baked goods from
UICPD staff and local businesses. UICPD then sells the baked goods at a low price to UIC
students, faculty, staff and residents.

In partnership with the University of Illinois Cancer Center, this year we raised $1,006.00
($634.00 in cash and $372.00 in online donations)! The proceeds were solely based off sales
made from the bake sale and will be used to support the Cancer Center’s community outreach
and engagement programs. Learn more by clicking the link below.

During the annual Cop on the Rooftop initiative, Special Olympics Illinois has raised over
$1 million dollars statewide. In May, UICPD raised nearly $3,000 at 1651 W. Roosevelt Rd.
The funds raised through this initiative will directly support the extraordinary and talented
athletes of Special Olympics Illinois.

For more information about Special Olympics Illinois please visit www.soill.org.
You can also view statewide media coverage of the event that includes the UICPD location.

At the Criminology, Law and Justice Career Fair, students heard a variety of perspectives and
learned about careers in the field. Law enforcement, counseling, social work, research, family and
domestic violence advocacy, legal, forensic anthropology/special investigation and government
agencies like UICPD, FBI, DEA, U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, Chicago
Housing Authority participated in the event.

UICPD officers answered questions, shared their interests and connected with students who
attended. They also participated in 15-minute sessions in the event’s “Think Tank” room, where
students could obtain advice and career strategies.

During the spring 2022 and fall 2023 semesters, UICPD collaborated with the university to host a series of Active Threat Preparedness Seminars. The seminars were designed to better prepare the UIC community to effectively respond if an active threat is present on campus. After each session, active threat preparedness protocol documents and a variety of safety and preparedness response resources were provided to participants. Frequently asked questions were also addressed.

UICPD participated in a fun scavenger hunt day of Trick or Treating in Student Center East that gave students an opportunity to walk the campus. All participants were given a stamp or punch card with all the SCE departments on it, where students had the opportunity to go around the building and find each department on the card. This event allowed UICPD the opportunity to talk to the students about safety resources and our new Campus Safety Resource Center.

Later that day. UICPD officers decorated the squad car and participated in a pop-up community-based truck or treat with the neighborhood businesses and area youth.

In the effort to promote personal safety across campus throughout the year, UICPD partnered with different university departments, including the Office of Preparedness and Response, Transportation, Cybersecurity and the Environmental Health and Safety Office to educate the UIC community about available safety resources.

2023 College of Dentistry Welcome Back Party

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UIC Police partnered with the Student Activities Board and the College of Nursing for UIC’s annual Doggypalooza, which is designed to help students and staff decompress during finals week. Events were held at the MAC gym on east campus and the College of Nursing on west campus.

The Orland Park and Worth police departments and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office provided therapy dogs for students to enjoy and interact with. The dogs are trained to help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, promote social interaction and more for officers who have been through unforgettable and life-changing experiences on the job.

Trained therapy dogs provide psychological and physiological benefits to humans. The dogs also participate in police-sponsored events like Doggypalooza to shine a spotlight on mental health and victim advocacy.

The “pawcifers” and their handlers joined UICPD’s P.A.C.E. unit to bring joy, stress relief and decompression to UIC students and staff and UICPD looks forward to future on-campus collaborations with these wonderful officers and their amazing canine partners.