Terrorism has emerged as a very real threat across our nation and internationally. Any organization, group or individual can be a target or innocent victim of terrorism. In the past 20 years, terrorist attacks upon Americans have included the bombing of the World Trade Center, the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the 1996 Olympic Games bombing in Atlanta, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

On June 22, 1993, a geneticist at UCSF, became a victim of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, when he received a bomb at his home. In 2008, UC Santa Cruz researchers’ homes and vehicles were bombed by animal extremists.  Here at UCSF, Animal Researchers have been targets of animal extremists’ criminal activity.  UCSF researchers have encountered criminal and non-criminal threats as well as vandalism.  In 2008, animal extremist Justin Thind was arrested by the UCSF Police Department.  Thind later plead guilty to crimes against UCSF Animal Researchers.

To reduce the risk of UCSF becoming a target of terrorism, the UCSF Police Department and its Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division participate in numerous local, Bay Area, state and federal counterterrorism and terrorism early warning groups.