Two officers graduate from police academy
URBANA – The University of Illinois Police Department is welcoming two new officers who graduated Thursday from the 14-week basic law enforcement class at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. Officers Daniel Leake and Jacob Gibson will now enter the department’s field training program for the next several months. Officer Leake originally joined the department as a telecommunicator in January 2015. This year, he earned two commendation awards as a telecommunicator for his exceptional and compassionate work tied to a hit-and-run accident and a reported sexual assault. Officer Leake, who grew up in Champaign, earned his bachelor’s degree in [...]
Students encouraged to be smart about online marketplace
URBANA – The University of Illinois Police Department is offering tips to students and community members who plan to use online sales tools like craigslist, Facebook, Venmo and many others. In recent months, police have taken numerous reports of students being ripped off after arranging transactions with people whom they have never met in person. In one report, a U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of deceptive practices on Sept. 29. The student arranged to meet an unknown person at Oglesby Hall, 1005 W. College Court, Urbana, to sell a speaker and a designer T-shirt [...]
Getting to know Telecommunicator Kristy Mecum
We had 12 questions for Telecommunicator Kristy Mecum in our ongoing series to get to know Division of Public Safety staff. How long have you worked for the Division of Public Safety? 12 years What's a typical day like for you? Unfortunately not very exciting at work or at home. At home I take care of 4 animals; I walk one of my dogs and spend time with the other one outside since she doesn't walk well. I don't have kids, so most of my time is spent with my pets or working on our new house. At work, I assist [...]
Police chief offers message following court decision
A message from Police Chief Jeff Christensen: Yesterday in a Champaign County court, Robbie M. Patton, 19, was convicted of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in relation to a tragic incident which took place just more than a year ago several blocks from campus, where one visitor to our community was killed and three others were wounded. The conviction is, in large part, because of the diligent work of the Champaign Police Department and the Office of the Champaign County State’s Attorney. While the news is reassuring that he will be held accountable for [...]
Street Crimes unit continues work to stop violence
This article was originally published in the University of Illinois Police Department Year In Review. To learn more about other department initiatives, statistics and goals, please review the report. CHAMPAIGN — Instances of gun violence in the greater Champaign-Urbana area continue to drop, in large part because of the work of the multi-agency Street Crimes Task Force. While gun violence on campus is rare, some areas of Champaign-Urbana do experience isolated instances of firearms-related crimes. And in September 2016, it became tragically clear that areas very close to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus are not immune. Early on Sunday, [...]