Police departments at the University of California

Police departments in the University of California system are charged with providing law enforcement to each of the system's campuses.

History

The University of California was established in 1868, and moved its first campus to Berkeley in 1873. The San Francisco and Los Angeles campuses followed in 1873 and 1919, respectively. The original UCPD department at Berkeley was founded after World War II. In September 1947, the Regents of the University of California established UCPD as a state law-enforcement agency.

Authority and jurisdiction

The UCPD is one of several police agencies in California having a statewide jurisdiction and authority (other examples include the California Highway Patrol, the California State University Police Department, and the California Department of Fish and Game). UCPD officers, like most California police officers, are empowered by section 830.2(b) of the California Penal Code, giving them authority as duly sworn peace officers throughout the state of California. As specified by Section 92600 of the California Education Code, their primary jurisdiction extends to the campuses and properties owned by the Regents of the University of California, as well as lands within a one-mile (1.6 km) radius of those campuses.