University of Utah public safety chief describes post‑2018 overhaul, emphasis on prevention and data

Chief Squires, chief of the University of Utah Department of Public Safety, told the Legislature’s School Safety Task Force that the university rebuilt its public safety operation after the 2018 murder of student Lauren McCluskey and is prioritizing prevention, mental‑health partnerships and data‑driven policing.

The university’s safety team now includes more than 315 employees, of whom about 55 are sworn police officers; just over 80 are non‑sworn campus security officers; and more than 180 serve as health security personnel for the hospitals and clinics that are part of the institution, Squires said. The university serves about 36,000 students and roughly 46,000 employees, and the campus includes nearly 300 buildings, he added.

Those facts matter because the university’s mix of academic, research and health facilities presents different security needs than K‑12 schools or a single‑building campus. “It is no secret, there has been articles done and legislation passed about the increasing violence…