The University of California says it wants to create a consistent and transparent set of guidelines for how university administrators communicate with university police at all 10 campuses within the system, according to a draft of the Robinson- Edley report released today. The report was commissioned by UC President Mark G. Yudof in November to examine best practices for handling demonstrations and civil disobedience after violent confrontations erupted between police and students at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
Yudof instructed UC General Counsel Charles Robinson and UC Berkeley Law Dean Christopher Edley to examine how municipalities, organizations and university campuses nationwide manage protests, and create a series of recommendations to clarify how UC administrators and police should communicate with one another during protests and acts of civil disobedience.
The report lists 50 policy recommendations to help guide the system's future responses to protests, including the deployment of mediators instead of police.
The report also suggests that campus administrators be trained in de-escalation techniques and that they develop internal student disciplinary measures instead of having protesters arrested and sent through the criminal justice system.
Today's report comes a few weeks after the release of UC Davis' Cruz Reynoso report, which was critical of the university's handling of the demonstrations that led to the pepper-spraying of seated student protesters by campus police. That report laid blame on both the administration and UC police.