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University Circle Police Department

Former UCI President, Joe Piggott, once said that the UCPD was the glue that held the University Circle community together. This sentiment still holds true today, as the UCPD is a national model for community policing for UCI’s 40 member institutions that each pay a voluntary assessment for this service. The community is safer too. Since 1990, the UCPD has achieved a consistent reduction in crime per year.

A highly regarded law enforcement agency
In addition to its 25 officers, which include plainclothes detectives, the UCPD is headed by Police Chief John Pavelich and supported by a staff of 4 full-time and 3 part-time civilian employees. With full law enforcement authority granted by state law, the UCPD follows procedures mutually agreed upon with the Cleveland Police Department.

The operations of the UCPD are supported by full radio communication as well as by LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data system), which provides instant access to a statewide data bank of crime information including vehicle registration, stolen property files, and wanted or missing persons. Through linkage with the National Criminal Information Center, such information is also available on a national basis.

UCPD Services
As a full-service police department, the UCPD provides the following services that are essential to maintaining safety and preventing crime in University Circle:
  • 24-hour patrol of the Circle in marked vehicles for maximum visibility and presence
  • Foot and bicycle patrols in designated areas 
  • A remarkable response time to emergency calls 
  • Surveillance using plainclothes officers and unmarked vehicles
  • Apprehension and arrest of criminals, as well as criminal investigations conducted by the UCPD Detective Bureau
  • The handling of many non-criminal incidents involving vehicles, missing persons, and disturbance complaints
  • Maintaining public safety also required a wide variety of community services that contribute to the overall well-being of the Circle. Accordingly, the UCPD provides:
- Directions to those in need and assistance to owners in locating their vehicles
- Assistance to owners who have locked keys inside their vehicles
- Aid to motorists with disabled vehicles
- Traffic control during special institutional events and at other times as needed
- Special building checks

Community Outreach
The presence of the UCPD, along with its reputation for quick response, is a strong deterrent to criminal activity in the Circle. Minimized opportunity coupled with timely and decisive intervention in actual criminal incidents has characterized the UCPD's public safety strategy since its inception. In keeping with its preventative methods, the UCPD:
  • Works closely with UCI's member institutions in focusing on crime prevention. The Police Advisory Council, composed of members of the UCPD and institutional representatives, meets bimonthly to review safety-related issues and plan enhanced safety measures
  • Makes crime prevention presentations, upon request, to the employee and users of Circle institutions, as well as to neighborhood groups and Circle residents - public awareness and cooperation are basic to public safety
  • Supports the principles of community policing, a concept which recognizes the interdependence and shared responsibility of police and community, as the best approach to problem solving
  • Works in partnership and shares resources with the Case Western Reserve University Security Department, University Hospitals of Cleveland Protective Services Department, and other University Circle institutional security forces to enhance personal safety in the Circle
University Circle Police Department
For emergencies, call 911 or 216-791-1234
12100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Phone: 216-791-2444
Fax: 216-791-8238

STAFF
Daniel J. Stahura, Vice President of Operations and Finance
John E. Pavelich, Chief of Police/Director of Operational Services

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