Adding up the cost

From the LA Times: The University of California shelled out more than $29 million to handle this spring’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war, with 90% of that paying for law enforcement, private security and other safety measures, according to preliminary estimates obtained by The Times.

The costs were higher than many UC leaders expected as they struggled to respond to protests that exploded across the system’s 10 campuses after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Israel’s retaliation with a massive ongoing assault on Gaza...

UCLA topped all 10 campuses in costs, spending $10 million on safety and security and $400,000 for building repairs, graffiti removal and other cleanup between March 1 and June 25...

UCLA hosted two regents meetings during that period, which contributed to the significantly higher security costs... UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said regents were aware that the costs of handling protests could be high but they backed efforts to do what was needed to restore campus safety...

When a university brings in outside law enforcement agencies, it must pay not only for officers’ time, including overtime, but also for lodging, transportation and meals for those who are deployed from outside the area. For large protests, such “mutual aid” is often necessary, since campus police forces are relatively small, ranging from 66 sworn officers at UCLA to 19 at UC Merced...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-18/uc-unveils-price-tag-for-this-springs-campus-unrest.