Stay in touch! Connect with UTPD via Twitter and Facebook, and let your UTPD District Representative know of any concerns or questions you have. 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 3/17/19 and Saturday 3/23/19. 3/19/2019, at 2:19 p.m., 101 E 21st St (Perry Castaneda Library) Suspicious Activity; Criminal Trespass Warning: The guard at the front desk of the library called UTPD with some second-hand information. A student was busy studying when disturbed by a man asking to take photos of, smell, and touch her feet, and she felt unsafe. UTPD had received reports with this same M.O. numerous times. In many of these reports, the witness told the front desk on their way out of the library, and we never got the chance to ask questions. This made it difficult to identify or talk to the man creating this situation. Last week, an investigator got a break, and we identified and warned the student about the behavior. This incident showed that behavior had continued after the warning. It is not illegal to repeatedly ask people to do strange things, however due to the number of calls to police this behavior had generated, it seemed very disruptive to the purpose of the library, and to the goal of making our community feel safe. UTPD conferred with the office of the Dean of Students, and the student was barred from returning to the library, among other consequences. Safety Tips: If something makes you feel unsafe, it’s probably making others feel unsafe as well. Please dial 911 any time you feel unsafe, do so as soon as possible, and wait in a safe place to talk to officers. Giving us an opportunity to ask you a few questions can make a big difference in resolving a situation. We are familiar with UT Austin’s administrative resources and may be able to use these solutions before a situation escalates to a criminal matter. Have a plan for how you’d address someone who harasses you in a public place. Make sure you’re safe first. This probably means going where other people are, such as a front desk area. Take a moment to breath. Recognize that this behavior isn’t your fault. If the behavior is ongoing, call 911. If you feel unsafe, call 911. Write down a time, location, what the harasser said or did, what they looked like, and if you know of any other witnesses. Writing down details helps us remember information more accurately. 3/21/2019, at 12:44 a.m., 1301 E Dean Keeton St (Facilities Complex) Burglary of a Coin-Operated Machine; Criminal Mischief: UT Austin’s landscaping, maintenance and repair services are based at a complex on the east side of campus. A facilities employee reported a suspicious man looking into a dumpster at the complex. Inside that dumpster were parts of a nearby Coca-Cola machine, including an empty bill and coin collector. One officer recognized the man’s description as a suspect in recent similar cases, and quickly organized a search of a likely location. Officers found that man with many tools that matched the damage to the machine. The man was arrested and transported to Travis County Jail. This crime had only yielded five dollars in coins. Safety Tips: Calling UTPD to report information that leads to an arrest for a crime against person or property deserves more than a pat on the back. Under the Safer by the Slice program, the man who called UTPD is entitled to a pizza and a lot of thanks! 3/22/2019, at 7:05 a.m., 1300 E Martin Luther King Blvd (Disch Falk Field) 3/22/2019, at 2:12 p.m., 1300 E Martin Luther King Blvd (Disch Falk Field) 3/22/2019, at 6:50 p.m., 1300 E Martin Luther King Blvd (Disch Falk Field) Public Intoxication; Criminal Trespass: Baseball stadium staff coming to work in the morning were surprised to find an intoxicated man already inside the facility, looking for a bathroom. Officers were called to help, but the man was not cooperating. When explaining the city of Austin’s excellent Sobering Center program, the man became combative and belligerent, and instead of going to the Sobering Center he was transported to Travis County Jail. Jailers placed the man into an isolation cell for the safety of other inmates, due to his continued belligerent behavior. We also gave this man a written criminal trespass warning not to return to UT Austin. That afternoon, the same officers were very surprised to encounter the same man in one of the suites of the same baseball stadium. After sobering up in the jail, he had resumed drinking, and was so intoxicated officers called EMS. The man was too intoxicated to be left Travis County Jail again, so he was left in the care of the Dell Seton Medical Center and given another firm (and written) warning not to return to UT Austin. Unfortunately, the man came back that evening. This time he was arrested for Criminal Trespass. He remained at jail for a longer period this time. Safety Tips: This pattern of behavior indicates a potentially serious addiction, and it’s better for everyone if we can rely on the Sobering Center’s peer counseling and referrals for addiction treatment as a solution. Travis County sees thousands of Public Intoxication arrests each year, and intervening is more effective use of resources, but there are situations where the Sobering Center isn’t the safest solution. In this case, UTPD could not put the Sobering Center staff in a situation where an individual may be combative. We also can’t bring someone to the Sobering Center if they’ve been charged with another crime, have expressed a suicidal ideation, or are under 18 years old. On another note, if you see a building’s exterior entrances are not securing properly, emailing a photo of your problem to your District Representative or contacting Facilities Services directly will help improve safety. During our responses, officers secured one faulty entrance to the baseball stadium, and improved patrols at the section of the building under construction. Campus Wide: The University of Texas Police Department responded to 558 total calls for service, including 142 Foot Patrols, 61 Traffic Violations, and 8 Thefts between Sunday 3/17/19 and Saturday 3/23/19. To view our official crime log, visit https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/fasweb/utpd/nlogon/crimelog/.
