In March 2023, Berkeley Police Chief Jen Louis reported that the overall number of violent and property crimes in 2022 was at a 10-year high. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin describes crime around UC Berkeley as “extremely concerning and troubling.”

Violent crime rose 15% in the city of Berkeley in 2023.

Serious crime on UC Berkeley’s campus and other property is disproportionately high compared to similar urban universities. You can compare crime data using the US Department of Education’s campus safety analysis tools.

To learn more, visit our Crime@Cal page, and read our 2023-2024 Safety Year in Review.

Part of what we do is hold UC Berkeley accountable for the safety promises it has made to students and their families — promises that too often have been broken. In the ‘22-’23 academic year, UC Berkeley was failing to provide basic safety programs found at most large universities — such as reliable nighttime shuttles and dormitory lobby monitors. Due in part to our advocacy, all three night safety shuttles are now in service, and student residence halls are better protected after dark with lobby monitors and/or roaming foot patrols.

We are in close contact with campus administration, meeting and emailing with staff regularly to gather information and monitor developments. We also study safety best practices at other universities and advocate for additional safety programs at Cal — like security fencing around student housing.

We have found that, unfortunately, UC Berkeley does not have an administrator with overall responsibility for campus safety. The university’s safety infrastructure is fragmented among multiple departments, each with many other, non-safety responsibilities. This makes it difficult for student safety to be the priority that it should be.

Above all, we are your voice for student safety at UC Berkeley. But we can’t do it without you.

Join Us!

Have a question or want to help? Contact us here.

• Ensuring UCPD is fully staffed and supported by the University

• Building secured access around all student dormitories to stop intruders from gaining access

• Expanding coverage hours for dorm security personnel

• Improving the WarnMe alert system — so that alerts arrive more quickly & with more information

• Better lighting on and around campus

• Realtime monitoring of security cameras in sensitive areas such as dorm entrances

• Better student safety training throughout their college experience

• Creating a permanent program of full-time safety ambassadors on and around campus

Get all of our latest updates here.

We are parents of current and recent UC Berkeley students who are working together to make Cal safer. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We’re holding UC administrators and members of local government accountable to making the changes we need.

We work with a variety of partners within the University, UCPD, local businesses, and parent safety organizations at other universities around the country.

Click for all of our latest updates.

While we are primarily a parent organization, we do welcome Cal affiliates as well as members of the greater Berkeley community who are interested in improving safety at UC Berkeley and in the city as a whole. We often engage with allies who are not Cal parents. To work on our specific safety measures, however, we will generally require you to be a parent or guardian of a current or recent UC Berkeley student.

Join Us!

Whether you are a Cal parent, a Cal affiliate or alum, or a member of the community who is affected by rising crime in Berkeley, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with us by emailing contact@safebears.org.

We would love to hear from you! Contact us here. (Our email: contact@safebears.org)