WHAT IS CSO? CSO (Community Service Organization) was created as an organization of students to act as a liaison between UCSB students and the Police Department. Over the last 30 years the organization has developed into a professional unit of the Police Department, maintaining the liaison function, as well as providing safety and security for students, staff and faculty. CSOs patrol the campus 365 days a year, reporting crimes in progress, assisting in emergency situations, and detecting safety hazards.

CSOs also provide personal safety escorts on campus and in Isla Vista. CSOs fulfill special security needs for residence halls and for campus special events. In response to the needs of more than 15,000 bicyclists at UCSB, CSO is responsible for a comprehensive bicycle safety education program. In addition to being a unique student organization, virtually all of the programs provided by the CSO are not provided by any other department or agency on campus or in the surrounding community.

CSO OFFICER OBJECTIVES

• To provide a safe learning and living environment for UCSB. 
• To encourage safety consciousness within the campus community. 
• To provide a positive link between the students and UCPD. 
• To establish an open line of communication on a peer group level. 
• To encourage bicycle safety and awareness.

CSO & The POLICE

As students, CSOs are employed by the UCPD and work with the Police Department to serve the community. Daily bicycle patrols allow CSOs to be visible to the campus community when situations arise where people need assistance- whether it be a lock-cut, calling Rescue to respond to an accident or calling for an officer to investigate suspicious circumstances. Frequently operating at a peer level, CSOs are often in a position to keep a situation from escalating into a potentially unmanageable incident. For further information, comments, concerns, or questions email: cso@police.ucsb.edu

UCSB Bicycle Abatement Program

The UCSB Police Department is charged with the task of keeping bicycle racks clean around campus. Every year, as alumni graduate and move onto life after college, hundreds of bikes are left behind. These "abandoned" bicycles take up valuable rack space, as bicycle racks are a premium on campus. Community Service Officers (CSOs) continually tag bicycles, throughout the year, that are potentially abandoned with bright orange tape. At varies times throughout the year-usually during major breaks such as Winter Break or Summer Break-CSOs will tag and impound bicycles that: 1) appear to be abandoned, and 2) have been tagged by orange tape.

All impounded bicycles are then brought to the Public Safety building for processing. These bicycles are held for a minimum of 90 days before they are transferred to PropertyRoom.com for online auctioning. During this time, CSOs attempt to make contact with the owners of the bicycles through the California bicycle registration system to ascertain whether or not the owners wish to exercise their ownership rights and their claim to the bicycle.

The Bicycle Abatement Program is specifically charged with clearing racks on campus, around the residence halls, as well as Off-campus University owned housing. It is conducted in accordance with University policies as well as California laws. This abatement process ensures that our campus is not cluttered with rusty and abandoned bicycles and/or bicycle parts. This process helps maintain an adequate number of secure parking spaces for bicycles to lock to and thereby discourage bicycle theft.

Questions regarding this program or any other CSO issues can be directed to CSO Coordinator Rob Crew at (805) 893-2325 or email him at: rob.crew@police.ucsb.edu.