Ulichny, Michael
Part 1 of 3 was recorded at Michael Ulichny’s house in Tucson, Arizona on April 12th, 2018. It covers the following themes:
b. 1943
Childhood in Wisconsin and Colorado. Move to Phoenix in 1959.
First impressions of Phoenix. High school on double sessions. Transportation, language, neighborhoods, sports.
Attending University of Arizona and living with Japanese friends from Phoenix.
First impressions of Tucson during high school. Family driving to Nogales to buy alcohol.
Engineering classes at the UA during the early 1960s, lectures via television, school on Saturdays. ROTC requirement.
Travel and roads between Phoenix and Tucson before Interstate 10.
Wrestling, fraternity life, hazings.
The Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy assassination.
Working on a desalinization project at the UA and in Mexico.
Dating and marriage in the early 1960s.
Abandoning engineering and studying public administration.
Police department requirements for new hires in the mid-1960s.
Community perceptions of police in mid-1960s.
Getting hired by the Tucson Police Department in 1964.
Typical crimes in mid-1960s Tucson, the city jail and farm.
Training, evaluation, and discipline of new police officers.
Race and policing in the 1960s: riots elsewhere in America and how they effected Tucson. Unrest in downtown Tucson after the MLK assassination, and a racial brawl at the Fox Theater in 1969.
The increasing diversity of police officers in 1970s and affirmative action.
Part 2 of 3 was recorded at the base of Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Arizona on April 17th, 2018. It covers the following themes:
Race protest of BYU at UA basketball game in 1970.
Scheduling and shifts at the Tucson Police Department.
Reflections upon the cultural 1960s.
Urban renewal, breakup of family units, and relocation of families to the east side. East side property crime, arson, difficulty at Santa Rita High School.
Changing relationship between police and schools in the 1960s and 1970s.
Urban planning and crime, dense cities versus suburbs.
University of Arizona student unrest in 1971, threats of burning down Old Main. Vietnam War protests. Three days of rioting near University Boulevard and Park Avenue.
Vanishing youth unrest in the mid-1970s.
Drug culture in the 1980s.
Detective work in the 1960s.
Changing communication technology in policing.
Increasing professionalization of policing in 1970s and 1980s and emphasis on education.
Tucson Police strike in 1975: pay, tension within department, tension between department and city.
Interacting with the Tucson City Council and the politics and policing.
Ulichny’s move into administration in the 1970s. The work of a police lieutenant.
Drug enforcement, prosecution, and changing attitudes towards drug use.
Recovery and sale of criminal accessories.
Part 3 of 3 was recorded at Michael Ulichny’s house in Tucson, Arizona on April 25th, 2018. It covers the following themes:
Federal grants to local law enforcement starting in the mid-1960s. Federal interest in scientifically approaching crime with computer assisted dispatch.
Tucson Police unit and beat designations.
Computerization of fingerprint system in 1980s and the beginning of national communication between local departments.
Creation of TPD’s helicopter unit.
Creation of bomb squad and dog unit.
Growing interest in crime-prevention in the 1980s. Community policing and geographic challenges. Other attempts at TPD outreach, neighborhood watch programs, neighborhood cohesion, school resource officers.
Ulichny’s experience speaking to media.
Crippling theft of Tucson’s water distribution equipment in 1982.
Administration and hiring of chiefs.
Ulichny’s tenure as acting Tucson Police chief. Selecting administrators, change of TPD uniforms, courting unincorporated areas to promote city annexation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and rise of Clarence Dupnik.
City annexation attempts in south Alvernon and Palo Verde area.
Dealing with city budget cuts.
Being passed over for the permanent job as police chief.
Civilian Review Board and unionization of Tucson Police.
Conflict with chief Doug Smith, getting sent into liaison position with United Way.
Retirement. Work as security consultant for Pizza Hut.
Volunteer work with Community Food Bank.
Looking back over changes in law enforcement from the mid-1960s to mid-1990s and a few more details about the Tucson Convention Center.