Cal parents are bringing in private security to make students safe

At the end of 2023, Cal parents raised over $40,000 to conduct a private security pilot program around UC Berkeley. The idea was inspired by USC’s Safety Ambassadors program, informally known as “Yellow jackets” due to the bright, standardized uniforms worn by its security personnel.

A USC Safety Ambassador (“Yellow jacket”) at work in Los Angeles

SafeBears leadership has been working with Streetplus, a private contractor which provides security services to municipalities including Oakland and San Francisco, on the final contours of our program, and we’re excited to announce that we will be launching our pilot on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

Just the facts

Program dates

March 6 - March 23, 2024

Hours of operation

6:30 PM - 3:00 AM

Number of safety ambassadors

6

Area of coverage

We received a lot of feedback from donors about the areas they hoped we would cover during our pilot. We settled on the plan depicted above, which includes:

• 1 ambassador walking the perimeter of Unit 1

• 1 ambassador walking the perimeter of Unit 2

• 1 ambassador walking the perimeter of Unit 3 including the sidewalk outside the main entrance of Blackwell

• 2 ambassadors on bike covering the matrix of streets between Bancroft and Dwight Way (N-S), and College and Dana (E-W)

• 1 ambassador on bike covering the horseshoe perimeter around the Clark-Kerr campus, including Piedmont Avenue up to Bancroft

How we chose this area

SafeBears leadership consulted a number of sources before approving the map above, including crime reports from the last 6 months, recommendations from our security contractor, and donor feedback based on actual student experiences. Our goal was to cover as many students as possible in the areas most prone to violent crime for 2 to 3 weeks.

SafeBears officers Sagar Jethani and Steve Ravellette met with Streetplus in Berkeley, reviewed our goals for the pilot, and conducted a walking tour of the planned area of coverage in early February before settling on this distribution of resources.

We believe this area of coverage achieves our goals within the budget we’ve raised. We also consulted with members of our advisory board, including Stephan Baum-Harvey, who runs the much-beloved Scanner Berkeley Twitter account tracking crime in the city of Berkeley, and Bruce Bauer, a retired UCPD officer who worked for years keeping Cal students safe. They agreed with the final shape of the pilot, agreeing that it covers the main areas where crimes against students have recently occurred.

About our ambassadors

All safety ambassadors have earned California “Guard Cards”, which means they have undergone a criminal history background check through the California Department of Justice and the FBI.

They have also undergone at least 32 hours of security officer training during their first 6 months of registration, and have been trained in verbal de-escalation. All ambassadors are also trained in CPR.

Our Streetplus ambassadors will not carry pepper spray, batons, handcuffs, or any other defensive equipment. Their role is to provide a physical deterrence to any threats against students. If they encounter a situation they feel is escalating, they are equipped with radios and can call for other ambassadors to assist. They also have a contact at Berkeley Police Department in the event the situation turns more serious.

Streetplus ambassadors will be attired in bright, easily-identifiable security jackets emblazoned with the word “SECURITY” on the back and the word “SafeBears” on the left breast.

While their main role is to patrol their assigned area, they will also escort students within their areas if requested.

Our ambassadors will not enter university property, like Unit courtyards, the actual campus of Clark-Kerr, etc, but will stick to public areas, including public streets and sidewalks.

Other details

• SafeBears shared an earlier draft of this plan with UCPD Chief Yogananda Pittman to keep her informed of our plans. We shared an earlier map of coverage, information on our safety ambassadors, and more.

• SafeBears president Sagar Jethani will be in Berkeley on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, to participate in ambassador training, answer any questions our ambassadors have, and reiterate our goals for the pilot.

• SafeBears is working to get media coverage of our pilot. More on that soon.

Final thoughts

Hi guys, it’s Sagar. I’m breaking the 4th wall for a minute to say that none of this would be possible without your incredible support and generosity. I hope you like the final shape of the pilot and are as excited for it as we are.

Our goal is to accelerate the administration’s own plans to get a similar program in place, something which has been in the works for a while. We’ve been impressed with its recent moves including closing down People’s Park, hiring more UCPD officers (10 since last year!), stationing student security monitors in the residence units, and more. But the persistent shortage of security personnel creates a dangerous environment for all members of the Cal community— something we’ve been reminded of in recent days.

If you happen to be up at Cal during the pilot program and see one of our safety ambassadors, be sure to say hi! Take a selfie and share it on social media, including in our Facebook discussion group.

Thanks again for making this pilot happen, and if you have questions, please share them in the aforementioned group where one of us can answer them for you 💛