Service

Making up more than two-thirds of our Department’s personnel, our patrol officers perform a variety of functions aimed at building and sustaining a safe learning environment for the University of Georgia, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Division is the largest and most visible aspect of the Police Department, and serves at the forefront of police operations. Patrol officers recognize that a service-oriented attitude is a vital part of effective policing, and our personnel work actively to maintain the positive police-community relationships we value. Whether on patrol, responding to emergency calls for assistance, or simply providing information about our campus, our uniformed officers are here to ensure that your experience on campus is a safe one.  

Safety

The primary focus of the Patrol Division is ensuring the safety and security of the University community, including students, employees, and visitors. This goal is accomplished daily through routine patrols, traffic enforcement, response to calls for assistance, and public engagement. Most often, our officers work in uniform and operate patrol vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles. However, given the ever-changing environment of the University community, patrol officers and supervisors utilize and adapt their patrol techniques, and use strategies such as foot patrol and outreach to meet the needs of the community.

Excellence

Our department is deeply committed to maintaining the highest level of professionalism in order to fulfill its mission. To facilitate this, our officers engage in a number of advanced training courses, which enable them to stay on the cutting edge of current legal decisions and modern police tactics. Each newly-hired officer attends a 408-hour basic law enforcement course at one of the state’s regional police academies. Once certified, officers undergo a rigorous field training program within the Department to build their understanding of the decision-making and problem-solving expected of our personnel. All officers can expect to attend advanced training courses that focus on topics such as constitutional policing, communications skills, mental health crisis response, advanced defensive tactics techniques and firearms training.