Welcome to UCLA’s Office of Campus and Community Safety! Whether you are a student, parent, or member of our faculty and staff, I encourage you to get to know our campus safety resources. This is a time of growth and development for campus and community safety at UCLA, and we are excited to partner with each of you as UCLA works to become the safest university in the nation.
I came home to UCLA to help infuse a new fundamental understanding of public safety and what makes a campus truly safe for all. A safe university is not just about freedom from crime, though that is our top priority; it is also about creating a place where Bruins feel safe—to express their views, learn, research, work, and play. A safe UCLA empowers us to be connected, engaged, and respectful of one another as a community.
The Office of Campus and Community Safety is working to achieve Chancellor Frenk’s “meta priority” of a safe campus through the leadership of two exemplary departments:
The UCLA Police Department
The civilian professionals and sworn officers of the UCLA police department seek to keep UCLA safe by operating a full-service police department. Driven by our community’s thoughts and ideas on what a safe UCLA means to them, we welcome your input! A fully certified police organization, our professionals are ready 24/7/365 to help.
This academic year, I was thrilled to recruit and hire our newest Chief of Police, Chief Craig Valenzuela, a veteran law enforcement executive with decades of experience. With his guidance and leadership, UCPD will continue to set the standard for 21st century, community-focused policing.
The UCLA Office of Emergency Management
A medium-sized city in itself, UCLA faces many of the emergency management challenges of our neighboring municipalities. Your Office of Emergency Management is responsible for planning, responding, and recovering from emergencies, be they natural or man-made. We remain engaged with federal, state, and local emergency management organizations, and assist individual campus units with their own planning for the unexpected. We are excited to be in the early phases of preparing our campus to welcome the world’s Paralympic and Olympic athletes in 2028.
Every day, the departments within the Office of Campus and Community Safety aim to keep you safe. But we cannot do this alone. We want and need your participation in this important endeavor. You can drop by the UCLA Police Station to ask a question about campus safety. You are welcome to reach out to me personally. If you are on campus or in Westwood, meet with a police officer or campus safety professional and strike up a conversation. And of course, in an emergency, please reach out by calling 911. Finally, here are some important resources for real-time safety information at UCLA. I encourage every member of our community to utilize these:
- Follow UCLA Police social media accounts (@UCLAPD on Instagram and Facebook, @UCPDLA on X) for real-time campus safety updates.
- Download the Bruins Safe app and review our campus safety resources.
- Ensure your contact information is up to date, as we send BruinAlert messages to your mobile number and email on file.
I am so optimistic and excited to be home at UCLA. There is much to look forward to in the coming years, and we invite you to take part in our journey towards making UCLA the safest university in the nation.
Go Bruins!
Steve Lurie
Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA Office of Campus and Community Safety