November 5, 2025
Dear Campus Community,
For several years the university has embraced the goal of investing in people and communities; it is a pillar of our Strategic Plan. In 2022, President Pines announced plans to implement a series of recommendations from the Public Safety and Community Policing Task Force that he charged in 2021. The task force's recommendations continue to prompt new and improved initiatives and programs aimed at facilitating partnerships between the University of Maryland Police Department (UMPD) and the university community.
As co-chairs of the Campus Safety Advisory Council (CSAC), which was established through this effort, we are pleased to share the progress since our update last fall. Of the 21 task force recommendations, 19 are now complete or have a sustained commitment. The remaining two initiatives–restorative practices in the Division of Student Affairs and the Mental Health and Emergency Assessment Team (or MHEART)–have made significant progress. Please visit our online dashboard for the status of each of the 21 recommendations.
Highlights since our last update include:
- UMPD has cross-jurisdictional agreements with neighboring police departments and agencies, which now include the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. These agreements enable UMPD to offer support, including mental health assistance through MHEART, in areas off campus where students live.
- Since fall 2023, UMPD has hired 80 additional student police aides who provide unarmed support (students seeking opportunities for employment, visit the UMPD Careers page). UMPD is committed to using the lowest level of force possible, going beyond State requirements for officer training, and the continuous evaluation of non-lethal weapon options. On the latter, UMPD is piloting non-lethal devices such as tasers and the BolaWrap (tether that wraps around a subject’s legs or arms).
- UMPD has completely redesigned its website to improve the user experience from any device or platform. Launched this past spring, the new site highlights community policing efforts at the university, UMPD partnerships and outreach, officer training information, a new statistics dashboard and other content that addresses the task force’s recommendations.
Our accomplishments this year have been made possible with the strong support and collaboration of President Pines, UMPD, the Division of Student Affairs, the members of CSAC, and other campus stakeholders. We look forward to continued progress ahead.
Sincerely,
Charles R. Reuning
Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer
He/Him/His
Georgina Dodge, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion
She/Her/Hers