Department Overview

The San José State University is an urban campus located on 154 acres in the heart of California's third largest city. From its beginning in 1857 as a teacher's college, SJSU has grown into a thriving community of more than 33,000 faculty, students and staff. As the University grew so did the City of San Jose. Once an agricultural community of a few thousand homes, San Jose is now the third largest city in California with a population of more than 925,000 people.

The San José State University Police Department is currently funded for 32 sworn positions: 1 chief, 2 captains, 2 lieutenants, 8 sergeants, 6 corporals and 13 officers. In addition to the office of the Chief, the department is divided into four divisions; Administrative Services Division: Field Operations Division: Support Services Division: and the Special Operations Division.

The Administrative Services Division is comprised of the Investigations and Crime Prevention Unit, the COPPS Coordinator, Recruitment and Training Unit, the Technical Services and Police Communications Unit, Property and Evidence Unit, the Records and LiveScan Fingerprinting Unit and the Fiscal Services Unit. (More About Admin Services)

The Field Services Division is comprised of the Uniformed Patrol Unit, Police Cadet Program, Evening Guide and Community Service Officer Program, Special Event Coordination and Terrorist Response. The Field Services Commander is also responsible for managing safety services for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joint City and University Library.(More About Field Services)

The Support Services Division includes Traffic & Parking Operations and Parking Enforcement Unit. Traffic & Parking Operations maintains 7,800 parking spaces for a campus population of over 32,000 people. Parking enforcement officers write about 18,000 parking citations and respond annually to more than 1,300 motorists needing help by unlocking car doors, assisting with flat tires, finding lost cars, providing gas cans, and more. (More About Support Services)

The Special Operations Division is responsible for the management and supervision of the San José State University emergency preparedness program by planning, staffing, conducting training, and coordinating exercises. (More About Special Operations)

The department annually documents about 60,000 incidents, arrests between 800 and 900 suspects and writes about 2,500 reports. The Police Communications Center dispatches UPD personnel to more than 50,000 calls for service each year.

Police and Traffic & Parking Operations personnel annually work more than 200 special events attended by over 500,000 people.

The University Police Department's primary jurisdiction includes:

• The university main campus.
• The South Campus athletics facilities.
• Studies in American Language facility (384 S. 2nd St.)
• The SJSU Art Metal Foundry (1036 S. 5th St.)
• The Aeronautics Facility (1120 Coleman Ave.)
• The International House (360 S. 11th St.)
• Jewish Community Center (336 E. William St.)
• Spartan Shops Warehouse (1125 N. 7th St.)
• Spartan Shops Apartments (355 E. Reed St.)
• Child Development Center (430 S. 8th St.)
• Recognized sorority and fraternity houses surrounding the campus.
• University President's House
•  
• Because of their remoteness from the San José State University campus, the following locations remain under the jurisdiction of the San José Police Department:
• SJSU College of Business MBA Program (180 Rose Orchard Way)
• University Foundation (210 N. 4th St.)
• Spartan Shops Houses (380, 382, 386, 390, & 394 N. 4th St.)

Because of its remoteness from the San José State University campus, the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (8272 Moss Landing Road) remains under the primary jurisdiction of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, while the San José State University Police Department provides crime prevention services to the Marine Laboratory.

Related Topic: Memorandum of Understanding between the City of San José and San José State University regarding operational responsibility for on-campus law enforcement.

We are an agency very involved in our community and dedicated to continuous improvement in all that we do. If you believe any member of this department has mistreated you, violated your rights, or been otherwise unprofessional in his or her conduct, you have a right to file a complaint and have that complaint investigated. You may present your complaint in person, in writing, over the telephone or via email.

Complaint Form

Campus Climate Policy (pdf 8 KB)