This past Tuesday marked my one-year anniversary as chief for the CU Boulder Police Department. In the past year, the department has improved in so many ways, thanks to the hard work of our members. I want to take a minute and share just a few of the ways we have improved how we protect our Buffs.
Chief of Police Doreen Jokerst
We have increased our transparency through several new programs. In August, we announced that our officers are all wearing body-worn cameras. Also, we have been meeting with several campus groups including our LGBTQ+ community and our faith-based communities.
In addition to that, we now have assigned liaisons to our residence halls. These liaison officers provide the res hall members a chance to interact directly with a CUPD officer and bring questions or concerns to that officer in a non-emergency setting.
We have improved our technology for our officers. I have already mentioned the body-worn cameras that our officers now wear, but, we also now have a state-of-the-art mobile radio system to allow for better communication for our officers.
In the past, radio communication was difficult for our officers even within our own building. Now, not only can they communicate better, if officers from other agencies respond to our campus to help us, they can tap into our system quickly and seamlessly.
I am also proud of the hard work of our staff. The events and emergency management division has successfully held several high-profile events on campus. From football to concerts to commencement and more, this group is setting the standard for large-scale event security.
Our residential services officers worked very hard over the summer and now have a limited commission in the city of Boulder. This means they are able to write tickets on some of the misdemeanor crimes that happen in the residence halls, which allows our patrol officers to stay available and ready to respond to more serious crimes.
Finally, I am proud to announce our employee turnover rate dropped dramatically in the past year. In 2017 and 2018, our turnover rate for commissioned and civilian employees was around 21–25%. So far in 2019, our turnover rates have dropped into the single digits. The national average for police departments is 11–14%.
We have come a long way in a year, and we will continue to move forward thanks to the hard work of the men and women of the CU Boulder Police Department. And, it is my honor and privilege to be the chief of police for CU Boulder.
Doreen Jokerst
Chief of Police
