# Is a University Campus off limits to local Law Enforcement? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854 "2014-05-20T19:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/1 "2014-05-20T19:30:21Z")
There is a pit thread about Columbia students and rape. The thing is that some men were ‘found responsible’ by the university but it was taken to the, you know, real police. And I remember the “university” security officer pepper spraying the “occupy” protestors on that California campus a few years ago. Are Universities some sort of “foreign embassy” were local law enforcement can not go? and if so, why? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/2 "2014-05-20T19:35:07Z")
if the university is owned by the state government then their enforcement system would have jurisdiction. there is likely similar laws about hot pursuit that govern neighboring jurisdictions as well as mutual aid agreements. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/3 "2014-05-20T19:41:18Z")
Might find this informative - This article discusses the reverse question of [Campus law enforcement increasing jurisdiction off campus](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/campus-police-forces-authority_n_4461099.html). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/4 "2014-05-20T19:49:10Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Are Universities some sort of “foreign embassy” were local law enforcement can not go? Short answer: No. Longer answer: Some universities have their own police departments, with full police powers. These are most common at large state universities. While a police officer in a given state may work for a department with a particular local jurisdiction, he has police powers throughout the entire state, including any college campuses that might be there. That said, departments will generally defer to each others territory in non-emergency situations, since that’s the whole point of having separate geographic departments. Some huge university campuses may have police departments that cover university-owned buildings or facilities that are outside the boundaries of the campus, or just serve dual-duty as local cops in the surrounding area if they don’t have their own force. In these cases they are basically the same as a local town police force. Other universities have security departments which are basically private security guards, perhaps with more training than a mall cop but less than a real cop. These are more common on private university campuses. Security guards possess common-law arrest powers (same as you) but can not investigate crimes or engage in actual police work. They are generally required to report criminal activity to the local police department who will handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/5 "2014-05-20T19:54:55Z")
It just seems odd to me that if I were on campus and the victim of a serious crime. (Assault/rape) that I would call the campus police and not the ‘real’ police. Of course when I went to college they were really more like security officers. Now campus police are really well equipped. (over equipped?) So the University owns a hunk of land that is surrounded by a town. Why not offer police protection from the town? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/6 "2014-05-20T20:06:37Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > It just seems odd to me that if I were on campus and the victim of a serious crime. (Assault/rape) that I would call the campus police and not the ‘real’ police. Of course when I went to college they were really more like security officers. Now campus police are really well equipped. (over equipped?) So the University owns a hunk of land that is surrounded by a town. Why not offer police protection from the town? University police (where they are police and not security or public safety) are “real” police. As friedo said, they often have police power throughout the state in which they’re commissioned. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/7 "2014-05-20T20:08:45Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > University police (where they are police and not security or public safety) are “real” police. As friedo said, they often have police power throughout the state in which they’re commissioned. And in my experience, they get really pissed off if you refer to non-university police as “real police”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/8 "2014-05-20T20:11:40Z")
There are certainly schools that have their own campus police who do not have jurisdictional autonomy. My impression is that there are political reasons that the local police shy away from college campuses, especially since they don’t get the blame for what happens there. Which is a shame because it’s clear that some schools dissuade students from seeking legal recourse in the case of crimes. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/9 "2014-05-20T20:40:25Z")
With rape and other types of sexual abuse you may have victims who want the university to take action (by expelling the aggressor), but who don’t want to go through the criminal justice system ordeal. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/10 "2014-05-20T20:56:31Z")
The question, it seems to me, is where do the university police refer the case for action? To the local prosecutor, or to the university administration? ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/11 "2014-05-20T21:05:34Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > There is a pit thread about Columbia students and rape. The thing is that some men were ‘found responsible’ by the university but it was taken to the, you know, real police. > > And I remember the “university” security officer pepper spraying the “occupy” protestors on that California campus a few years ago. > > Are Universities some sort of “foreign embassy” were local law enforcement can not go? > > and if so, why? In Ohio, Ohio law gives state run University police basic Exclusive jurisdiction under 3345.04. So they have primary jurisdiction of the campus. Mutual Aid Agreements can be entered into to give university police and local police jurisdiction on each other’s turf. Some states I suppose give campus police concurrent jurisdiction on areas immediate adjacent of the Campus even without a MAA. So the answer is STATE specific. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/12 "2014-05-20T21:09:05Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The question, it seems to me, is where do the university police refer the case for action? To the local prosecutor, or to the university administration? Prosecution is referred to the Courts, either for violation of state law or Municipal Ordinance. Campus police in Ohio have the power of arrest on campus as locals do off campus, but trial is a Court matter. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/13 "2014-05-20T21:24:51Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > Prosecution is referred to the Courts, either for violation of state law or Municipal Ordinance. > > Campus police in Ohio have the power of arrest on campus as locals do off campus, but trial is a Court matter. I know what you’re saying, but that’s not quite my question. Put another way: When an assault occurs in downtown Columbus, OH, it gets investigated by the Columbus Police, who refer it to the Columbus district attorney (or whatever the local prosecutor’s title is) for prosecution in court. If an assault occurs in an Ohio State dorm and gets investigated by university police, do they likewise refer the case to the local DA for criminal prosecution, or only to the University for administrative action? I agree that the answer probably varies by state and by university. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/14 "2014-05-20T21:32:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The question, it seems to me, is where do the university police refer the case for action? To the local prosecutor, or to the university administration? If they are police, then to the prosecutor. If security, then to the local or state police. The university would have little involvement in any criminal proceedings unless the crime targeted university personnel or property. The university police might also have an agreement to notify to the administration for university disciplinary proceedings, unless confidentiality laws prohibit it in certain or all cases. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/15 "2014-05-20T21:34:42Z")
They are real police, and refer the case to the same place as any other real police. They may or may not also refer matters to the campus administration, but if so, that’s in addition to, not instead of, their policing. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/16 "2014-05-21T00:25:59Z")
I’ve seen University of Kansas police patrolling out to about 1 mile from campus. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/17 "2014-05-21T00:37:36Z")
When I went to work for the government, part of the hiring process, at least for me, was to have my fingerprints taken and submitted by a law-enforcement agency. As I was just graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I went to the campus police and had them take them. They were accepted, so obviously the government recognizes campus cops as “real police.” But I think they didn’t get too many requests for this, because they treated it as a real novelty, someone actually _wanting_ to be fingerprinted. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I’ve seen University of Kansas police patrolling out to about 1 mile from campus. It may still be university-owned land. At my uni in West Texas, the campus was at the center but the university’s land extended far. That was mostly farmland for crop studies and such. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/18 "2014-05-21T01:02:41Z")
It’s not an issue (in the case of serious crimes like rape or sexual assault or harassment) that they’re telling students/staff to go to campus police instead of the town police, it is that they’re telling students/staff to _bypass_ police completely, and instead lodge the complain with whatever disciplinary office they have on campus. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/19 "2014-05-21T02:01:07Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I know what you’re saying, but that’s not quite my question. > > Put another way: When an assault occurs in downtown Columbus, OH, it gets investigated by the Columbus Police, who refer it to the Columbus district attorney (or whatever the local prosecutor’s title is) for prosecution in court. If an assault occurs in an Ohio State dorm and gets investigated by university police, do they likewise refer the case to the local DA for criminal prosecution, or only to the University for administrative action? > > I agree that the answer probably varies by state and by university. I’ll give you an example. This case got a lot of press recently. [Suicide of Tyler Clementi - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Tyler_Clementi) The incident happened on Rutgers campus. It was originally investigated by the Rutgers Police which is a fully accredited police department. As all such complicated and serious crimes further investigation was run in conjunction with the county prosecutors office. And the prosecution of course was done by the prosecutor. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854/20 "2014-05-21T02:49:06Z")
Around the world you do see a some variations. As a very odd corner case, apparently the University of St Andrews, has, by some ancient legal right, some real legal power for disciplinary measures. In general however, in the modern world, university administrations shy away from any form of disciplinary action that crosses boundaries like assault and rape. If they expelled a student after such a charge they would find themselves sued for minimally lack of natural justice. Indeed I have seen universities essentially avoid any disciplinary action for this reason. Even overt academic cheating. At my old university, there was a constant myth that the police could not enter the campus. Just why it wouldn’t die is something of a mystery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-university-campus-off-limits-to-local-law-enforcement/688854.md?page=2)