The University of Oregon Department of Public Safety is now officially the University of Oregon Police Department. @@http://police.uoregon.edu/@@
“There was a real need to make the change, it was difficult to figure out what to call ourselves since we were a police force but still hadn’t made the change. We weren’t even sure what to say when picking up the phones,” UOPD spokesperson Kelly McIver said.
While a name change seems important, it is the only significant difference.
“Nothing is really changing, (the) service is still the same and there is no change in equipment,” McIver said. “We have 11 sworn officers, six are fully certified and five are in various stages of completing their certification.”
While the department may have certified officers, they will rarely be patrolling. Only Public Safety officers will be on patrol except for football games when all officers will be helping out.
“I really want to clarify that at this moment nothing is changing besides the name. There is no equipment change and officers will not be possessing firearms,” McIver said.