Crime Prevention Tip of the Week: University of Texas students often report that they received a call from some posing as an IRS agent or police officer, threatening to arrest the student if they don’t pay a fine via Green Dot or iTunes gift cards. The hoaxer will know many specific details about the student, such as their address, college major, and e-mail address. At other times someone will claim to be a bank or credit card company verifying account numbers. Don’t fall for these social engineering scams. The IRS and police will never ask you to pay fines with gift cards, and your bank should never ask for your account number over the phone. If you aren’t sure, look up phone numbers and call the organization back, or call UTPD to help you figure out the situation, before you pay. Also, restrict your directory information on UT Direct and Workday (for employees). Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus criminal activity reported to or observed by The University of Texas At Austin Police Department Patrol Officers during the between Sunday 2/10/19 and Saturday 2/19/19. 2/11/2019 at 11:00 p.m., 2308 Whitis Ave (Union Building). Disturbance, Warrants, Criminal Trespass: UTPD officers were dispatched to a disturbance at the Union Building. Students reported that a man had yelled an order for others to get on the ground. Many students ran from the area, and the man then ran out of the building. As officers arrived at the Union Building they were monitoring the Austin Police Department’s radio and heard that a man similar in description had just been detained by APD a few blocks away. Officers were able to conduct an investigation and determine the man in APD custody was the man who caused the disturbance, and also that this man had been previously warned by UTPD that if he returns to campus he is subject to an arrest. APD arrested the man for warrants, and UTPD also filed additional criminal charges. In events like this, social media sometimes spreads information that isn’t correct, such as a report that this man was armed, or was committing a robbery, which can contribute to panic. Make sure to follow UTPD on Twitter and Facebook, and be signed up for timely alerts at http://www.utexas.edu/cellphonealert. UT Austin has great resources to help those who were affected by this disturbance, such as the Counselling and Mental Health Center, which can be reached at (512) 471-3515. 02/12/2019, at 6:50 a.m., 2420 San Antonio Street (San Antonio Garage). Warrant Arrest: UT Austin has several parking garages close to the main campus, and UTPD’s officers and public safety officers walk the stairwells and drive through these garages regularly to keep them safe for students, staff, and faculty, as well as their cars. Officers checked the San Antonio Garage before most of the community came to UT this morning, and found a transient asleep in the elevator. When talking to this man, they discussed better places he could go to find shelter and resources, but officers soon learned the man had outstanding arrest warrants, one of which was for theft. Officers arrested this man and transported him to Travis County Jail without incident. Officers also double checked the area for signs of theft, finding none. Invariably, when checking campus garages, we see a few cars will have doors unlocked, and many cars will have valuables, such as laptops, on display on seats. Theft is a crime of opportunity. Securing valuables in your trunk or glovebox will prevent crimes from occurring and also make our garages and other parking areas less attractive to criminals. 02/16/2019, at 10:27 p.m., 2300 Guadalupe Street. Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility, Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in a Motor Vehicle, Expired Vehicle Registration, and Possession of Marijuana: A UTPD officer driving by West Campus observed a vehicle pass by, and was able to smell an odor of marijuana emanating from it. The officer stopped the vehicle for expired registration, and verified that the smell of marijuana had indeed been coming from this car. In fact, the driver’s tongue and eyes showed telltale signs of recent marijuana use. UTPD generally tries to exercise discretion when it comes to possession of marijuana, however combining driving a car with any kind of drug is dangerous to public safety. When an officer smells marijuana on a car, they are able to perform a “Carroll Doctrine” Probable Cause search without obtaining a search warrant, on the spot. UTPD officers did so, and found a bag of marijuana and a bottle of tequila with a quarter of its contents remaining. The driver conducted the usual field sobriety tests, and fortunately officers determined the driver was not intoxicated. Officers issued the driver a citation for the marijuana, and a warning for his other offenses. *The University of Texas Police Department responded to 695 total calls for service, including 184 Alarm Activations, 124 Foot Patrols, 101 Traffic Violations, and 19 Welfare Concerns between Sunday 2/10/19 and Saturday 2/16/19. This week's Campus Watch was prepared by: Officer Dustin Farahnak. Crime Prevention Tip of the Week: As a community service, UTPD officers offer a basic physical defense program to women students and employees of the University, free of charge. These instructors are certified by RAD, Rape Aggression Defense Systems, and the feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive for several years. RAD teaches women defensive techniques using easy, effective and realistic self-defense tactics. Women leave this course empowered and confident. The course is also available to men on request. The next three-day course will be offered from April 8-10th, from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Register at this web address: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/fasweb/utpd/classes/nlogon/ Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus criminal activity reported to or observed by The University of Texas at Austin Police Department between Sunday 2/17/19 and Saturday 2/23/19. 2/17/2019, at 9:45 p.m., 300 W 20th Street. Possession of Controlled Substance; Prohibited Weapon: A UTPD Officer had just completed a walkthrough of the Jester Dormitory when he began checking campus from his patrol vehicle. He observed a car make a number of unsafe maneuvers. The car stopped in the intersection at a red light, made a wide right turn from the left lane, and then weaved out of its lane of traffic. Often, drivers who show difficulty dividing their attention, such as being unable to turn without confusing everyone around them, are actually intoxicated, so the officer made a traffic stop. The driver wasn’t able to explain why he was driving like this, but the strong odor of marijuana gave the officer a clue about what the problem was. Due to the Carroll Doctrine, a police officer with probable cause (such as the odor of marijuana) can search a car in this situation. In the car, the officer found spoons with THC oil residue, a bong with THC residue, a container of THC oil, and beautiful, rainbow-hued brass knuckles. Though knuckles are easy to purchase online, they are illegal and therefore more likely to knock their own owner out with a Prohibited Weapons charge. While his personal property was inventoried upon arrest, a bag containing a white powder was found in his wallet. The man was transported to the Travis County Jail without further incident. 2/21/2019, at 4:43 p.m., 900 E Dean Keeton Street. Driving While Intoxicated: UTPD practices directed traffic enforcement, based on which intersections and activities are statistically shown to need the most attention. The intersection of Dean Keeton and San Jacinto is one of those locations, and an officer enforcing traffic laws observed a Toyota travelling 49 miles per hour, well in excess of what is safe. The officer had some difficulty when he tried to stop this car, which, instead of stopping, started driving slowly in the bicycle lane, followed by the marked police car with red and blue lights activated. Then the Toyota began trying to back into one of the angled parking spots on Dean Keeton, as though he weren’t being pulled over at all. The officer saw the Toyota was about to strike the vehicle next to his parking spot, and started sounding his patrol vehicle’s air horn. The Toyota didn’t notice the air horn either, and went ahead and struck the neighboring car. The Toyota continued to not notice the officer, who was now giving him commands over the PA, and the officer watched as the driver pulled out of the spot and back into it again, attempting to center his car between the lines of his parking spot. During this time, the Toyota also almost struck the police car. The officer wisely decided to back away and avoid the collision rather than rely on lights and sirens alone to alert the driver. The driver, upon exiting his car, was very surprised when he was told he was being stopped by a police officer, and even more surprised when told he had struck a neighboring vehicle, and even more surprised when told his breath smelled like alcohol. The driver insisted he was not impaired as he had only consumed one and a half beers. At the conclusion of the field sobriety test, the officer determined he was quite impaired, arrested him, and transported him to the Travis County Jail without any further parking dilemmas. At the jail, a UTPD Intoxilyzer Operator took a sample of the driver’s breath, and determined his blood alcohol concentration was 0.108. Under the Texas Penal Code, any blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater is “per se” intoxicated, meaning the law assumes your judgment and physical ability have deteriorated beyond the point where it is legal to operate a vehicle. Of course, UTPD also made sure the struck vehicle’s owner was properly informed. 2/22/2019, at 11:59 a.m., 210 E 21st St. (Jester Academic). Criminal Trespass; Aggressive Panhandling: Two weeks before this day’s incident, an anonymous citizen complained to UTPD that a transient would enter a common area of the dormitory’s academic center, and demand money from students until one bought him a meal. Any solicitation on the UT Austin Campus requires permission in advance or is in violation of Regent’s Rules, and this sort of confrontational behavior is both unusual on campus and not safe. UTPD arrived and was able to spot the man and give him a Criminal Trespass Warning. This warning simply means if someone so warned returns to campus, they are subject to an arrest. Unfortunately, the man came back and continued this behavior, which a witness described as confrontational. A UTPD Officer stopped the man and arrested him for Criminal Trespass. During the interaction, the man was informed of local resources that could help him find food, work, and shelter. The man was transported to Travis County Jail without incident. Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to let UTPD know when someone’s behavior is a problem. It’s completely understandable to want to help those who are less fortunate, but instead of encouraging behavior that can cause problems down the line, the city of Austin lists many resources where we can volunteer or donate to help making a meaningful difference. http://www.austintexas.gov/department/homeless-assistance 2/23/2019, at 8:55 p.m., 210 E Martin Luther King Blvd. (Brazos Garage). Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia: Over the years, UTPD officers have observed a few locations students “discover” each semester and believe to be good places to hide and smoke marijuana. A couple are on or about the Brazos Garage, conveniently near the Jester Dormitory. Because being intoxicated at night can be unsafe, UTPD has learned to pass through these spots regularly to prevent more serious problems from happening. On this evening, an officer knew, well before he made his way around to one of these spots, that the odor in the air wasn’t buttered popcorn. Initially, the students the officer found said they were merely listening to music, but they eventually admitted they were smoking marijuana. They turned over their marijuana and a few articles of paraphernalia, and returned to their dorm safely. In cases like this, often a student’s honesty will work in their favor. They received no criminal charges from this incident, but may hear from the Dean of Students and possibly receive education on drug use. Campus Wide: The University of Texas Police Department responded to 623 total calls for service, including 183 Alarm Activations, 122 Foot Patrols, 61 Traffic Violations, and 26 Welfare Concerns between Sunday 2/17/19 and Saturday 2/23/19. To view our official crime log, visit https://police.utexas.edu/crimelog/. This week's Campus Watch was prepared by Officer Dustin Farahnak.
