Final Report
Public safety co-chairs Tyrone Howard and Rasha Gerges Shields sent their final report to the chancellor and UCLA community in May 2022. Read the final report.
Purpose
A core responsibility of UCLA is to implement public safety policies and practices that protect the rights and well-being of every member of our community, fairly and respectfully.
The murder of George Floyd sparked a national conversation about the dynamics of race, racism, policing, and public safety. To ensure all members of the Bruin community feel safe, respected and have a sense of genuine belonging, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter sent an announcement to the campus in the spring of 2021 appointing Professor Tyrone Howard and UCLA Law Alum Rasha Gerges Shields as co-chairs of UCLA’s public safety efforts. Their task was to gather input from our community about their experiences with policing on campus and the surrounding areas, as well as how Bruins define public safety on campus. Based on that feedback, the co-chairs are establishing a process for developing and implementing new public safety measures that better serve our community.
Process
Committed to transparency, as well as to hearing and seriously considering all viewpoints, the co-chairs engaged students, staff and faculty through campus emails and in a series of public meetings throughout April of 2021. In May of 2021, they met with UCPD members to get their views. The co-chairs also solicited written feedback via email or submitted anonymously through an online form. Their goal was to address the varied, and sometimes contradictory, public safety concerns expressed by diverse members of the community; note areas needing improvement; and search for best practices to embody our values, protect the safety and respect the rights of all in our campus community.
Additionally, an independent, third-party review of the LAPD’s use of the Jackie Robinson Stadium parking lot in June 2020 to process arrests of people protesting racial injustice is underway. The findings of that report will be available on this page once the review has been completed.
Findings and recommendations will be posted on this site for review and comment in 2022.
About the Co-Chairs
Tyrone Howard is a UCLA professor of education, Pritzker Family Endowed Chair in Education to Strengthen Families, director of UCLA’s Black Male Institute and a distinguished racial equity expert. His full bio can be read on the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies website.
Rasha Gerges Shields is a UCLA Law graduate, partner at the Jones Day law firm, member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Task Force on Racial and Social Justice and global co-chair of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association’s diversity committee. Her full bio can be read on the Jones Day website.
Community Comment
The co-chairs welcome you to share your thoughts with them directly (and anonymously, if you so choose) through this feedback form, or please send an email to UCLAPublicSafetyCoChairs@gmail.com.
Campus Messages
Publication of Public Safety Co-Chairs’ Final Report, May 2022
Community Town Halls with Public Safety Co-Chairs, January 2022
Update from UCLA’s Public Safety Co-Chairs, December 2021
UC Community Safety Plan Released, August 2021
Update from UCLA Public Safety Co-Chairs, June 2021
Community Conversations on Public Safety, April 2021
Charting a New Course for Public Safety at UCLA, April 2021