The Washington University Police Department (WUPD) Chief of Police Angela Coonce presented for the Student Union (SU) Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 14, giving an overview of WUPD procedural practices and upcoming projects. 

Of the 21 Senators, there were 11 present at the meeting. Attendance was not sufficient to meet quorum.

With 24 years of former experience as an officer in St. Louis City, Coonce started with WUPD in August of last year.

With 67 total WUPD members and two dispatchers on duty at all times, WUPD assists callers from any jurisdiction from which they are requested, with most patrolling taking place on Danforth Campus. In 2022, WUPD had 7,152 calls for service, with many off-campus students resorting to WUPD given their response time is much faster than that of 911.

Coonce began the presentation by acknowledging the recent shooting at Michigan State University and citing 2022 as the highest year for school shootings since 1999. Coonce emphasized WUPD’s preparedness for school shootings with consistent training, active shooter tabletop exercises, and an active shooter drill scheduled to take place this summer.

Since taking office, Coonce’s “biggest project” is to improve WUPD’s response to mental health crises, referencing the 2021 Public Safety Committee Final Report. Written by students, faculty, and staff, the Report called for an improved response to mental health crises and increased communication and feedback between students and the University administration.

“The presence of an armed police officer can be concerning, even alarming–so much so that some individuals may not seek support from the university during a mental health emergency,” the Report states. “While WUPD has prioritized crisis intervention training, the department is currently resourced to send only armed police officers to calls as opposed to more specialized mental health personnel.”

Coonce explained that every officer is required to have 40 hour crisis intervention training, and the ​​University’s Relationship and Sexual Violence Preventention (RSVP) Center is working to train dispatchers to deal with these crises. Co-responders from the University of Illinois were also invited to present their insights on the provision of mental health services to Brown School, WUPD, and Habif Health Center.

Since taking office, Coonce has implemented a variety of changes at WUPD, including a certification in sensory training, a therapy dog program funded by Stray Rescue St. Louis, and technology improvements that allow officers to be rated on their services.

Coonce also recognized the importance for WUPD to engage more in the student community, with the number of community events held by WUPD doubling from 2021 to 2022.

Speaker of the Senate Hussein Amuri, a sophomore, questioned Coonce on how officers were trained to monitor personal biases regarding race.

Coonce replied that WUPD conducts psychological evaluations and investigates predictors in officers prior to hiring. While there is no specific training in regards to these biases, Coonce said she is focused on holding internal conversations within the department.

“Obviously, the climate of policing needs a change — I think we can all agree on that,” Coonce said. “When you have incidents like the one that happened in Memphis, we have to look internally and say, what can we do better and how can we stop this from ever happening again?”

In a summary of crime statistics in the past five years, Coonce showed larceny and property damage as the most prevalent, with an average of almost 69 cases each year. Violent crimes, such as assault and robbery, saw an average of almost 9 cases each year since 2018.

WUPD training includes de-escalation, firearm, and use-of-force training that requires any use of force to be reported to the FBI. Alongside their Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accredited status that ensures community-oriented policing process, requirements at WUPD are “a lot more stringent” than the police departments of other institutions, according to Coonce.

Coonce admitted that students often have reservations regarding WUPD’s constant presence on campus.

“Everyone has had a different experience with police in the past, so we have to go above and beyond to try to bridge that gap,” Coonce said. “We know that we’re going to be out there sometimes and people are just not going to want to talk to us and that’s okay.”

Regarding Bear Patrol, a University program that provides walking and golf cart escorts to students, Coonce described the program as “a mess” due to understaffing and hopes to improve the program for the future.

Hoping to get increased feedback, Coonce also encouraged students to download the WashU Safe App that offers a variety of safety features for students such as a mobile bluelight or access to emergency procedures.

“You are the future leaders of the world. We’re here to make sure that you get out of here safely, and that you can make positive changes — that’s what every officer in WUPD signed up for,” she said.