Heads up, phones down.

That’s the message behind National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which kicked off April 1. Officers around the country will be on the lookout for drivers not paying attention to the road.

UCFPD officers will focus on violations such as texting while driving as a part of the campaign, which is led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Texting while driving is particularly dangerous because it involves drivers taking their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and minds away from the task of driving.

The UCF Police Department recently welcomed three new officers to its force.

Family, friends, fellow UCFPD staff, and members of the community witnessed the new officers be sworn in Thursday, March 31.

The University of Central Florida will next week host a series of events to teach members of the UCF community how to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

The 4th annual KNIGHTSHARE Expo will be held March 28-April 1 and will include educational and hands-on opportunities to prepare for emergency situations. Students, faculty and staff members, and the community are welcome to attend the training sessions and events.

UCF’s preparations for potential emergency situations include regular tests of communication tools that provide critical information to students, staff and faculty members, and the public.

Several of those UCF Alert tools will be tested Thursday, March 31. This semester’s testing is timed with KNIGHTSHARE, an annual week of events and training designed to prepare the community to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

The UCF Police Department reminds anyone who will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this weekend to keep safety top of mind.

With festivities planned in the UCF area over the next several days, UCFPD will have an increased presence near campus and is sharing simple tips to help all those celebrating enjoy themselves responsibly.

The UCF Police Department on Friday will join agencies from across Central Florida on a county-wide DUI detail.

The multi-jurisdictional effort, a collaboration with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and numerous other agencies, will target impaired drivers near UCF and throughout Orange County. It will run from 9 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday.

As part of the detail, drivers suspected of being under the influence could be pulled over by police and asked to complete a roadside sobriety test.

As Spring Break starts, the UCF Police Department reminds students of a few simple ways to have a safe and enjoyable break.

If you’ll be traveling, check that all the windows and doors of your home are locked before you leave. If you are leaving your car behind, make sure windows are rolled up and doors are locked.

Remove valuables from your car and take any expensive items, such as laptops, jewelry and electronics with you, or store them somewhere safe and out of sight.

UCF Police is adding staff to the hub of its department—the state-of-the-art, 24-hour communications center that receives all of the campus’ 911 calls.

A UCFPD dispatcher job posting will be added to https://www.jobswithucf.com/ on Friday, March 4. The application will be open for two weeks, and UCFPD is hoping to hire two new dispatchers.

Crime at UCF is down, according to the 2015 Uniform Crime Report released by the UCF Police Department this month.

There was a 31 percent decrease in violent crime, and property crimes dropped by 24 percent compared to 2014. Nearly every other category saw a reduction or stayed constant.

The full report is available here.

UCF Police officers, employees and campus and community partners gathered Thursday at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center to celebrate a year of hard work and success.

UCFPD staff members and supporters were honored for their contributions with awards presented by UCF Police Chief Richard Beary and Deputy Chiefs Carl Metzger and Brett Meade.