Talk:Campus police

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 26 August 2021 and 15 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Maybenans.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 16:37, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Name?

Moved article back from university police as campus police is a broader ans better known title.--71.185.210.16 04:36, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually, "University Police" is a more accurate title. The term "Campus Police" implies limited jurisdiction. For many Universities, the campus is the primary focus of their law enforcement officer, but not the only focus.

I agree with this point. Campus police could technically be any "campus," but University or College Police would be a more specific identifier. Further, University/College Police are not necessarily bound to what some would define as traditional "campus."

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 02:41, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Why campus police?

The article says nothing about why a campus police is used instead of the normal local police. Do they have different jurisdictions? Is there any overlap? --84.20.17.84 07:41, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Actually, the article does indeed address this. It speaks of the size of the expanded local police force that would be needed. It also mentions the familiarity with campus grounds, buildings and personnel. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Researcher EdD (talk • contribs) 02:54, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

The answer to your question about jurisdictions differs from state to state and even differs within states. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.45.46.29 (talk) 04:05, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

The standards for 'campus policing' vary from state to state. Also, the caliber of policing provided at each school is different from college to college (i.e. colleges/universities that are larger tend to have more traditional police departments, while smaller colleges tend to have less traditional (increased use of security vs police) . It might be a good idea to break down each state's rules on campus policing. Then, within each state's subsection, information about differences in schools may be able to be discussed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 17:11, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Public vs. Private

The discussion here seems to ignore the existence of University Police Departments at private universities. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania, where I attend, maintains a large private police force. From the discussion of the Penn Police on the university's website, it's hard to grasp exactly what their role is, but it seems to suggest that they have some sort of formal law enforcement authority. I'm not precisely sure how that works, but some sort of acknowledgement of these kinds of situations would seem in order. john k (talk) 08:15, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree with John K.--the status of Campus Police employed by private universities is VERY unclear, and someone with a real understanding of the legal issues needs to address this. I do know that in most jurisdictions they are sworn officers with full arrest powers but their exact legal status and where they derive these arrest powers is very unclear. I assume it is similar to other privately employed sworn officers such as SPCA Officers and railroad police, but they should be addressed in in this entry. To only say that Campus Police are employees of public institutions does a disservice to sworn officers in service to private universities. That said, many large private universities, including the two largest--NYU and USC--have moved from Campus Police to Public Safety Officers who--while still armed--are no longer sworn officers and may not exercise full police powers. THis should also be part of this discussion, but I am not qualified nor do I have the necessary knowledge to make this type of entry. Ray Trygstad (talk) 18:38, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Explanation of purpose

As a non-US resident, I found the article didn't fully explain the purpose of the Campus Police. Comments about "Domestic violence" and "civil unrest" really doesn't go anywhere near explaining why a police force would be needed by a non-municipal agency such as a university. Can someone more familiar with the purpose of modern day campus police forces provide a reference which offers statistics on the types of activities these agencies get involved with? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.173.8.101 (talk) 00:01, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

But what do these campus coppers actually do? Is this a way for universities to stop students from doing what most students do - taking drugs, getting drunk, etc.? I know that some US states don't allow people under 21 to drink alcohol (even though 18 is the age of majority in the US and most countries) - would they enforce these laws or are they just there for real crimes like robberies, assaults, rape, etc.? And what does the article mean when it quotes "domestic violence" as one of the reasons for campus police? Domestic violence would surely be extremely rare in universities as, by definition, it is violence against a partner. Most university students are not in long term relationships let alone marriages. Campus police seems like such a strange notion to most of the world that this article really needs to get across who they are and what they do a lot better than this!--ЗAНИA ^{talk WB talk}] 22:25, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

If anything, this page should be used to educate people that - generally - University and College Police Departments are just as legitimate and capable of maintaining law and order as their municipal and county counterparts - sometimes, moreso. In fact, I believe Penn State is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in all of PA (third or something?). University Policing has come a long way in the last 20 years. Some of the ideas being expressed on this page relating to University Policing being different from other types of law enforcement are significantly off base. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 02:46, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Neutrality

The article is written in a favorable tone and contains many unsourced statements such as: "For many campuses, if there were no campus police the local agencies would have to almost double in size[citation needed]. Many larger universities have a student population equal to or greater than the civilian population of the community[citation needed]. University police can also become familiar with the campus buildings and people, providing better service to the campus community. […] This [the liaison officer] allows students to gain first hand knowledge on policing and real life scenarios that the force faces. […] In some cases, campus police agencies are better equipped and staffed than municipal and county agencies in their area due to the significant amount of funding available in a college environment[citation needed]."

On the other hand, there no criticism (i.e. campus police incidents) are mentioned. --Church of emacs (Talk) 09:59, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

I actually think this article is written by someone who is unfamiliar with university law enforcement, or their familiarity is 20 years old. This article is not a fair representation of University law enforcement in the present day, but it may be a more accurate historical depiction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 02:47, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Command Structure

(If that's the right heading). Events at UC Davis raised an issue that's surprising and confusing to non-Americans like me - the question of who it is that heads a campus police force. In the case of Davis, media reports seem to suggest that a University functionary, the Chancellor, rather than being subject to police authority like any other civilian, or just "calling the police" like any other citizen, instead may actually act as a chief of police, determining police-force policy and even deciding on operational tactics on a given occasion. That's pretty amazing and baffling. Who acts in the place of a chief of police of a campus force? Where do they get their authority? Is it policy-setting &/or operational authority? What makes the chief of a campus force legitimate within the national structure of policing (in whatever country)? Are they elected or appointed, etc. It would be really useful to have a section covering the most common setups. Jistaface (talk) 07:24, 27 November 2011 (UTC) jistaface

The Rationale for the Campus Police

The rationale for the Campus Police reads just like it could have been from South Africa during the days of Apartheid.

"As a result of the domestic violence and mass civil disturbances found across the nation in the 1960s and early 1970s, campus security often proved ineffective against riots and other violent civil demonstrations, occasionally resulting in injury to both the students and the officers. These campus security officers were often poorly trained, ineffectively led and unprepared to effectively respond to many turbulent and unanticipated events."

A pity what words are used for… 217.237.92.80 (talk) 15:04, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, this unsourced comment is ridiculous. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 02:48, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Armed?

As a European I came to this article to understand why such police even exist. The whole concept seems so bizarre. The article doesn't say if these cops carry guns. It says Campus police at public institutions in the state of Rhode Island are sworn police officers, but state law prohibits them from carrying firearms but what about the rest of the country? Do these Police really have the powers of regular cops? I mean are they there to protect the students or to harass them? Would they arrest students smoking pot on campus or getting a bit drunk at night? Do these cops need permission from the university to enter university property? Is there significant opposition from student unions and teacher unions to campus cops? Also is this just for normal universities or are there also campus cops at private universities? The article really needs to better explain what these guys do instead of assuming that it's something we're all familiar with.--217.71.45.237 (talk) 20:48, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Removed because no citations

The following was deleted based on the lack of ANY citations and being uncited for over two years:

This section, as follows, was deleted for being completely unsourced for 2+ years:

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Beta7 (talk • contribs) 02:57, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

==Basis==

"University police departments are established to provide a quicker response time to incidents on campus and to offer campus-specific services not necessarily available from local policing organizations. For many campuses, if there were no campus police the local agencies would have to almost double in size. Many larger universities have a student population comparable to or greater than the civilian population of the community. For example, the University of Massachusetts Amherst had 27,269 students in the fall of 2013, while Amherst, its host community, had an estimated total population of 37,819 that year. University police can also become familiar with the campus buildings and people, providing better service to the campus community.

University police's jurisdiction varies by location. Some university police have jurisdiction statewide, some have city wide or county wide jurisdiction. Some campus police departments' jurisdiction is limited to campus property, but may also include property and roadways adjacent to the campus."

== History ==

"

A patrol car of the University of Houston Police Department

As a result of the domestic violence and mass civil disturbances found across the nation in the 1960s and early 1970s, campus security often proved ineffective against riots and other violent civil demonstrations, occasionally resulting in injury to both the students and the officers. These campus security officers were often poorly trained, ineffectively led and unprepared to effectively respond to many turbulent and unanticipated events.

Consequently, a need emerged for a better solution for campus security, which led to the creation of university/campus police departments across the nation. Laws were passed and regulations enacted that provided officers with the necessary statutory authority to perform their expanded roles. Campus police officers were required to attend the police academy and to meet higher training and educational standards, particularly when dealing with campus-specific issues such as non-violent crisis management and riot training.

Alternatively, on some campuses, sworn police officers work side by side with campus security officers who perform similar duties and often assist each other. While some universities and colleges just employ campus security officers, it is common in the United States for a major university to have its own police force. On many campuses, the police employ students to act as escorts for students who do not want to walk alone at night, allowing the sworn police officers to concentrate on other enforcement related duties."

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I love the question marks and the questions here it is in use together with, but I have another question here: why does its name violate the police forces name copyrights here?

File:Question_book-new.svg I love the question marks and the questions here it is in use together with, but I have another question here: why does its name violate the police forces name copyrights here?

question is meant seriously, no pirating or general copyrights infringement or license text breaching intended. No pun intended also, please take this question seriously as piracy is not wiki-eligible.