About the Department

The University Heights Police Department is a full time, full service agency providing law enforcement services to the City of University Heights, Iowa.  The department consists of five Iowa Law Enforcement Academy certified police officers and up to ten reserve police officers.  The department operates two marked patrol cars and two police bicycles.

The City of University Heights, Iowa is located in Johnson County and is bordered by the City of Iowa City.  The city was founded in 1935 and is currently home to approximately one thousand people.  The atmosphere in the city is unique in that it is a small town surrounded by a much larger city.  Because of this unique atmosphere, a unique policing experience exists.  While our officers work in a "small town", their work often involves crimes and other activities uncommon to similarly sized communities and departments.

The department is heavily focused on traffic enforcement including speed and traffic control device enforcement as well as registration and licensing enforcement.  The department is very active in the detection and apprehension of impaired drivers as well, arresting approximately 200 alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers in 2008.

The department is able to accomplish its mission with the assistance of grants from the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, the Department of Homeland Security, and the assistance and hard work of its officers.  Of particular note is the Reserve Unit, which logs several hundred hours of entirely volunteer, unpaid patrol with the department every year.

One of the unique aspects of policing in University Heights comes from the city's very close proximity to the University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium, where all University of Iowa home football games are played.  On home football game days, the city is host to tens of thousands of visitors and policing needs change dramatically.  To this end, all members of the department are on duty throughout the day for extended shifts and foot and bicycle patrol is heavily utilized.