University of Chicago Police Department
Our Department
The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) is a full service, CALEA-accredited police department serving the University of Chicago and surrounding areas. Members of the department are committed to conducting their work in a respectful and dignified manner while providing a safe environment for those who live, learn, and work in our community.
Read the Police Services Brochure to learn about the different services we provideTo Contact the UCPD:
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Dial 123 from on-campus phones
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Press the red button on an emergency phone
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Call 773.702.8181 from other phones
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Email cops@uchicago.edu
The cops@uchicago.edu email account is monitored from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can call the UCPD anytime.
UCPD headquarters is located at 850 E. 61st Street and is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Emergency Communications Center (773.702.8181) must be called after 5 p.m. to enter the building.
Learn how to file a police report, or send us a compliment or complaint.
Police Data and Information
The University of Chicago Police Department provides a range of data and information from its day-to-day operations, including daily reports of all crime incidents and fire incidents reported to the UCPD. You can also view the various kinds of documentation and forms used in UCPD reporting processes.
Our Responsibilities
The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) has worked to keep our communities safe for more than 40 years. This professionally trained, CALEA-accredited police department operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is staffed with state-certified officers.
UCPD leadership, which includes a chief of police and a command staff, oversees the department’s policies, crime prevention strategies, and community outreach efforts, while UCPD command staff sets the overall direction of the agency; supervisors guide officers in their day-to-day work.
The Illinois Private College Campus Police Act (110 ILCS 1020/) authorizes the University of Chicago and other private higher education institutions in Illinois to appoint campus police departments. It is from this statute that members of private campus police departments in Illinois, including the UCPD, derive their authority to act as municipal peace officers on their campuses, University property, and contiguous public property. UCPD officers are also authorized as peace officers for an extended jurisdiction off campus in accordance with Chicago City Ordinance, most recently Ordinance O2011-7316. The City Council has expanded the UCPD’s jurisdiction to assist the Chicago Police Department with the needs of the communities surrounding the University. The measure was developed in response to community needs and requests from community leaders for the University to play a role in public safety and other issues of concern to residents.
The UCPD has primary responsibility for patrolling the University of Chicago campus and University property, and serves in a supportive role in the extended patrol area where the Chicago Police Department is the primary policing agency. The extended patrol area extends from 37th street to the North to 64th street in the South, and from Cottage Grove Avenue in the West to Lake Shore Drive in the East.
