Photo collage showing CORE officers, Aggie Hosts, Health 34 workers and a police officer interacting with a student

UC Davis Tiered Responses to Calls for Campus Assistance

UC Davis is committed to creating an environment where our community feels safe, heard and respected in every interaction so that we can continue to collaborate to improve campus safety practices.

Through an inclusive approach to public safety, the university strives to pair any call for help received by its dispatchers with the most appropriate services and resources available — whether from the UC Davis Police Department, Fire Department, community ambulances or resources curated for students and employees, such as mental health and well-being services.

What is Tiered Response?

This webpage is based on the document originally published in fall 2022, "UC Davis Tiered Responses to Calls for 911 or Non-Emergency Assistance" (PDF), which reflects how emergency and welfare response works at UC Davis, including levels of response from across campus departments. This approach is a work in progress that UC Davis is continuing to grow and develop further. New relationships between campus departments are being built, strengthened and tested as part of this process. We expect this document will be updated once these new processes are fully activated.

This is a critical part of re-imagining how we support our community and our campuswide response to recommendations from the Task Force for Next Generation Reforms to Advance Campus Safety and the UC Community Safety Plan.


Explore more progress toward UC Davis safety reforms


Types of Responders

Many different types of responders work in the UC Davis Police Department and UC Davis Fire Department. Their various roles are described below.

  • Uniformed Police Officers
  • Sworn police officers wear protective equipment and drive distinctly marked white UC Davis Police Department vehicles. Available 24/7.
  • CORE Officers
  • Sworn police officers provide consultation, education and support as part of UC Davis community policing efforts. CORE Officers wear polo shirts with their UC Davis Police affiliation, and their police protective equipment is generally not visible. They travel by plain vehicle or on foot, sometimes with a K-9 companion. CORE Officers are generally available 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and later as events/needs dictate.
  • Campus Safety Specialists
  • Staff members who address safety issues that don’t require the presence of a sworn officer (Uniformed Police Officer or Core Officer) and also provide support to officers when needed. This includes responding to calls for after-the-fact incidents, leading safety trainings, alerting the community to scams, taking reports, diverting traffic and patrolling specified areas. They wear grey "Campus Safety" shirts and navy pants. They drive white vehicles with UC Davis notation on the doors. Campus Safety Specialists are generally available on the Davis campus with the UC Davis Police Department, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
  • Protective Services Specialists
  • California registered security guards predominantly work fixed posts in Sacramento and mobile posts in Davis, including foot patrol. They are equipped with yellow flashing strobes, carry a radio and wear a Protective Services uniform. They drive white vehicles with UC Davis notation on the doors. As part of the UC Davis Police Department, the Protective Service position is active on the Sacramento campus and expanded to the Davis campus to enhance security. They are available 24/7.
  • Physical Systems Security Staff Members
  • Civilian staff members whose focus is campus safety and crime prevention through the use of cameras, videos, card access and other infrastructure. Physical Systems Security staff members with the UC Davis Police Department are generally available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays
  • Firefighter/EMTs
  • Campus firefighters wear logoed uniforms and drive distinctly marked, red UC Davis Fire Department vehicles. They are all-hazard responders for many emergency types including fires, medical needs, hazardous materials incidents and technical rescues. During medical emergencies, campus firefighter/EMTs provide rapid care until an ambulance arrives. They are available 24/7.
  • Student Firefighters and Student EMTs
  • Students trained and employed by the UC Davis Fire Department work alongside campus firefighter/EMTs. They wear logoed uniforms and drive distinctly marked, red UC Davis Fire Department vehicles. In addition to their emergency responsibilities, they also provide medical standby services at campus events, provide community outreach, teach CPR and other medical response certification courses, and assist in the delivery of fire department programs and services.
  • Aggie Hosts
  • Student security employees who respond to calls for Safe Rides with the UC Davis Police Department. For event security and surveillance, they primarily assist, observe and report matters to police dispatchers. Aggie Hosts wear khaki pants and polo shirts and drive Safe Ride vans or operate on foot.
  • Health 34 Allied Health Paramedics and EMTs
  • The Health 34 initiative, led by the UC Davis Fire Department, delivers free, non-emergency support and service navigation for mental health and basic medical care to anyone on the UC Davis campus. Calling the Health 34 phone number, (530) 754-3434, connects callers directly with a care team comprised of allied health paramedics, EMTs and students from the School of Medicine and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing on clinical rotations. Team members intervene in advance of a crisis and foster wellness, assist with acute health issues and deliver service navigation to community members, wherever they are on campus. They wear logoed medical scrubs and drive a distinctly marked, red UC Davis Fire Department vehicle. The team responds to Health 34 calls on a 24/7 basis.

What Happens When You Call for Help at UC Davis

A dispatcher answers your call and quickly assesses the situation — and then activates responders based on the type of call and resources currently available. Dispatchers evaluate each call across many dimensions based on what the caller is describing and assign responders or resources best suited for the need.

Responses outlined in this document are currently activated by dispatchers when a caller in a UC Davis location dials 911 — or else when someone calls one of the UC Davis dispatch nonemergency numbers on the Davis campus (530-752-1727) or the Sacramento campus (916-734-2555).

Dispatchers handle these calls 24 hours per day, seven days per week.


Tiers of Responses to Various Call Types