Association News

By President William F. Taylor

July 31, 2015 (West Hartford, CT)

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators was disheartened over the death of Samuel DuBose during a traffic stop conducted by a University of Cincinnati Police officer on July 19, 2015. Dedicated campus public safety professionals strive each day to provide a safe and secure learning environment at institutions of higher education serving 17 million students throughout the United States. We were saddened to learn of this incident which was not only tragic, but raised tremendous emotions at a time when our nation is experiencing difficult relations between police officers and the communities they serve.

We understand that swift action in this case is warranted. However, during the press conference in which he announced the indictment of the University of Cincinnati police officer, the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney rushed to judgement when he called for the disbanding of the University of Cincinnati police department and made statements detrimental to campus police in general. It was disappointing that he felt compelled to make such statements when history has shown that the presence of armed campus police officers has reduced crime levels on campuses and in many cases the surrounding communities.

When other law enforcement agencies within his jurisdiction have been involved in several similar incidents in recent years, the Prosecuting Attorney has not called for the disbanding of those law enforcement agencies.

The University of Cincinnati police department received new leadership eight months ago when Jason Goodrich, an experienced campus law enforcement professional was hired as the Chief of Police. The University of Cincinnati was already committed to improve the police department and had dedicated resources to hire additional police officers and security personnel, review operational procedures, and update policies. When this unfortunate incident occurred, the University committed additional resources to engage an outside professional consulting firm to conduct a thorough examination of the police department and provide recommendations for improvement and professionalization.

Over the past week and a half, Immediate Past President David Perry and I have responded to more than twenty media inquiries regarding campus public safety. We have endeavored to explain the nature of campus public safety in general and more specifically the authority, jurisdiction, accountability, professionalism and transparency of campus law enforcement agencies and the police officers employed by institutions of higher education.

Like the University of Cincinnati police department, many U.S. campus public safety departments are sworn law enforcement agencies: empowered with full police authority operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In fact, according to the most recent Campus Law Enforcement Report, published in January 2015 by the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Statistics, two-thirds of the more than 900 U.S. four-year colleges and universities with 2,500 or more students use sworn police officers to provide law enforcement services.

These sworn officers undergo the same training as their local or county counterparts. Sworn police officers have full arrest powers granted by a state or local authority. More than nine in ten public colleges and universities used sworn officers, the Justice Department found. In addition to similar training regiments (per the BJS report, the average training requirement for entry-level sworn officers during 201112 was 1,027 hours, with approximately two-thirds of it in the classroom and a third in the field), sworn campus agencies receive far more training in dealing with reported sexual assault cases. Additionally, the BJS report cites the growing trend used by campus public safety departments to apply Community Oriented Policing concepts in their daily activities, which is the philosophy supporting the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. Many campus police departments have employed this philosophy of policing since the department was established. The statistics show our college campuses are safe. IACLEA strives to further increase campus safety and professionalism.

Media Contact:
Gwen Fitzgerald, Director of Communications
860.586.7517 - media@iaclea.org