UC Berkeley Parents Raise $40,000 for Private Security to Patrol Campus: ‘Situation Needs to Change’

The concerned parents believe the university was not acting with enough urgency to make their children safer.

Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., May 10, 2018. Ben Margot/AP Photo

Frustrated by the rising number of violent crimes targeting University of California at Berkeley students around their campus, a group of parents is taking the matter into their own hands.

SafeBears, a non-profit organization that describes itself as comprising “1,300+ Cal parents and community allies working to improve safety for UC Berkeley students,” has launched a pilot program to increase patrol forces near campus, as both university and city police departments are struggling with a shortage of manpower.