Functions of the UA Little Rock Police Department

UA Little Rock Police Officers are constituted police and possess all the powers provided by law for city police and county sheriffs, to be exercised as required for the protection of the state institution.

The officers are authorized and empowered to arrest with or without warrants, any person on the campus who is in violation of federal, state, or local laws, and to enforce all rules and regulations of the university.

The UA Little Rock Police encourages all members of the university community to promptly report all crimes to the UA Little Rock Police or other appropriate police agencies. UA Little Rock Police Department was established to provide a safe campus environment.

Community policing, including patrols using non-conventional methods and officers working with all university constituents, is important to campus safety.

The officers are trained professionals with the power to investigate, search, and arrest as prescribed by law and to use reasonable/necessary force to enforce the law to protect persons and property.

UA Little Rock Police Officers investigate any crime or incident reported to have occurred on university property and have the power to arrest as prescribed by law. Information gathered from these investigations is used to prosecute perpetrators and for the prevention of further incidents.

UA Little Rock Police Officers patrol all campus buildings and grounds. These patrols prevent and detect crimes and property loss. Patrols are conducted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Officers perform patrols on foot, in motor vehicles, and on bicycles.

The UA Little Rock Police maintains a communication center to monitor intrusion, robbery, and fire alarms for university buildings. An appropriate response is determined, and the necessary action is taken.

The UA Little Rock Police monitors radio communications continuously.

The UA Little Rock Police Crime Prevention Officer or Facilities Management routinely inspects safety issues associated with shrubbery and lighting. Lighting maintenance is a responsibility jointly shared by the university and Entergy

Each light pole bears a number to facilitate immediate reporting of faulty lighting to DPS or Facilities Management.

The Crime Prevention Office works with resident building staff to provide education to on-campus residents about personal safety, reducing the likelihood of room thefts, and fire safety. Resident staff may also assist in medical or other emergencies.

The Crime Prevention staff is trained in areas relating to campus safety and crime prevention, and work closely with various campus groups. They are responsible for the coordination of efforts on-campus to improve individual physical safety.

State and Local Enforcement

  • State law defines the areas of responsibility for institutional law enforcement authority. UA Little Rock Police Department works jointly with the Little Rock Police Department to help assure safety to the university community.
  • The UA Little Rock Police Department is authorized to submit evidence to the Arkansas State Crime laboratories.

Campus Access

  • Officers are responsible for checking persons in university facilities who are not known to them. After normal closing hours, all persons are required to have university identification cards, building entry cards, or written permission from appropriate department heads.
  • All campus buildings have scheduled open hours. Notifications of changes in these hours of operation are to be forwarded to UA Little Rock Police Department in writing prior to the changes. The person identified as being responsible for the building must submit this notification.
  • Access to a closed building is permissible for authorized persons possessing university identification and legally issued keys/access cards. A person not possessing keys/cards will not be allowed to remain inside closed buildings unless accompanied by an authorized person or written authorization previously forwarded to UA Little Rock Police Department from the person responsible for the building, (the vice-chancellor, dean, or director responsible for the building determines facility access).

Emergency Text Messaging

In the event of an emergency involving an imminent threat on campus, UA Little Rock Police will utilize the university’s campus alert notification system to notify the campus community.  Students and staff can register online to receive real-time notifications of these emergency events.  These messages are transmitted only during emergencies and are an additional real-time avenue of communication.  The text messaging system is tested campus-wide at least once each year.

Emergency Preparedness

The UA Little Rock Police facilitates the university’s Emergency Management Plan.  This plan is developed by UA Little Rock command staff and senior managers from various departments, who meet regularly to develop and practice the implementation of emergency plans, including disaster response and evacuation and business continuity plans.