University Department of Public Safety

Committee Description

The Chief Safety Officer for the University of Utah and the University of Utah Department of Public Safety have established the Independent Review Committee (IRC) to help foster the campus community's and the public's confidence and trust in the University's safety personnel. The IRC reviews complaints brought against University Safety personnel including but not limited to university police officers, main campus security, and health campus security by members of the University community whom these individuals serve. The IRC is independent from the University of Utah Department of Public Safety and is not intended to replace formal internal review and disciplinary procedures. The IRC advises the University's chief safety officer (“CSO”) and the president and has no independent disciplinary authority.

Complaints about public safety personnel may be reported to the department, the Independent Review Committee chair, the Office of the Chief Safety Officer, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, or the Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. These are referred to the executive officer for investigation. To submit a report directly to the chair of the Independent Review Committee, email irc@utah.edu.

Upon completing an investigation, the executive officer will submit the report to the involved supervisor to determine the findings and then submit to the chief safety officer for final approval before submission to the IRC. Outcomes will fall into one of the following classifications:

• Unfounded: The allegations are not factually accurate; the alleged conduct did not occur.
• Exonerated: The alleged conduct did occur but was justified under the circumstances.
• Sustained: The alleged conduct did occur and was not justified under the circumstances.
• Not sustained: The written record of the investigation does not support a determination of whether the alleged conduct occurred. This classification is used whenever a case involves conflicting stories that are not clearly resolvable on the basis of evidence presented to the committee.
• Administratively closed: No investigation was completed due to the fact that the complainant did not cooperate with the investigation (except in an instance of alleged serious or criminal violation).

IRC Role and Process in Reviewing Investigations of Complaints against U Safety Personnel

• The IRC reviews complaints, investigations, determinations and sanctions against U Safety Personnel related directly or indirectly to issues of excessive force, violation of rights, abusive language, or dereliction of duty and makes determinations and recommendations as described in this section.
• At the conclusion of the U Safety investigation of a complaint, the CSO or their designee shall forward to the IRC chair(s) for review the complaint, all investigation materials, the determinations and the imposed sanctions (if any).
• The IRC shall review the written record submitted from the CSO—it shall not conduct its own independent investigation. The IRC will report in writing to the CSO the specifics of whether they agree with the findings, conclusions and actions of the Department in whole or part.
• If the IRC reaches a different conclusion on the findings, conclusions and/or actions of the Department, the concerns will be shared with the CSO and the president for documentation and consideration of possible changes to policies and procedures.

Read the full regulations and procedures here.

An annual report of all incidents, as well as any recommended changes to policies or procedures, will be produced annually for the CSO and will be made available to the campus community at this page.