University Police investigating battery on U. of I. employee
The employee reported that he was working inside the building around 4:09 a.m. when he was struck in the head from behind by an offender who quickly left the area.
Dating app extortion
A U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of an ongoing extortion scam between December 2021 and Feb. 17. After communicating with an unknown person through a dating app, the purported father of that unknown person called the student to say that the student had been communicating with a minor. The father demanded money under the threat of contacting the police. Several other demands for money were made over time, with the student paying a total of $4,500. The student later discovered that none of the claims were true.
Training, plans in place to respond to active threats
After an emergency or tragedy occurs elsewhere, it is normal to want to know what local authorities are doing to prevent or respond to a similar situation here.
Sexual extortion
An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $500. The student complied.
How license plate readers are helping University Police solve crimes
URBANA, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department has long made technology a key piece of its police work – its security network of more than 2,300 cameras has provided critical evidence in countless criminal investigations. But February will mark just one year since it began installing and incorporating an emerging technology – automated license plate readers. University Police have five license plate readers of their own on campus property, and also have access to readers installed over the last year or two by the Champaign Police Department and Champaign County Sheriff’s Office. Those departments have collaborated and shared [...]