Find out who your campus police are before you need them

Something happens on campus: a theft, an assault, a stalker, a break-in at a dorm. The first instinct is to tell the school, the RA, the dean or the security office. Whether that is the right first call depends on a fact you can look up in advance.

Find out now whether your campus has its own sworn police or only security staff, because that decides who you should call and what a report to them can do; in an emergency, call 911 (999 in the UK).

The words “campus police” and “campus security” can sound like the same thing, and they are not always. One person says victims sometimes go to the administration first because they wrongly think campus security are sworn officers with arrest powers. Another says that not every university has a sworn police department; some have only a security department that works with the local police, which changes how reporting works.

Why the kind of police matters

Some people say campus police at large public universities are real police with full authority; one person says that at a public school the campus police are state employees, go through the same courts and jails as city police, and face the same state investigations for misconduct. One person says at a small or private school there may be only security, and that is when you go to the city police. One person says campus security are mainly guards for crowded areas, like mall security, even where they have some state status. Others say a campus may be covered by the county sheriff, or the state police, or a city department, and that who has authority over the grounds can differ from the next school’s.

The people who warn against trusting the school and the people who defend campus police disagree, and this page does not decide it. Some people say institutions such as schools, hospitals and workplaces put protecting their liability and reputation ahead of the person who was hurt, and that you should contact the police directly before going to the school or HR. Some people note that even sworn campus officers may answer to the university, through a dean or a vice president, and see a conflict of interest in that. One person says it is unfair and dangerous to treat all campus police as corrupt, because it can put students off help that is legitimate. Whichever view you hold, the useful question is what kind of force your campus has, and you can look that up.

How to find out, in a quarter of an hour

Under a US federal rule, the Clery Act regulations (34 CFR 668.41 and 668.46), a school that takes part in federal student aid must give its students and employees an annual security report by 1 October each year. It can be sent by email or mail, handed out, or posted on the school’s website; if it is only on the website, the school has to tell students the exact web address and give a paper copy on request.

The same rule says the report must describe the enforcement authority and jurisdiction of the school’s security personnel, whether they have authority to make arrests, and how they work with the state and local police, including any written agreements. It must also include a policy that encourages accurate and prompt reporting of crimes to the campus police and to the appropriate police agencies, when the victim chooses to report or cannot. The US Department of Education also runs a free site where you can look up a school’s reported crime statistics for the past three years.

So the check is short. Open the report, find the section on security personnel, and answer three questions: are they sworn officers, can they arrest, and who do they work with in the city. If the report does not make it clear, you can ask your campus public safety office the same three questions before anything has happened.

In an emergency

If someone is in danger now, the answer in the US is 911 and not an office. Some people say to call the police directly and not to start with the school, and one person says that when someone is in imminent danger, speed is what matters. One person says dispatchers handle routing between agencies, so you do not need to work out who has jurisdiction before you dial. Some people say a call from inside a campus that has its own police department can go to that department’s dispatchers, even from a mobile phone, so you may be talking to campus police when you call 911. That is the reason to know what kind of force they are.

Some people say to call the campus security or public safety line as well as 911, because campus layouts confuse outsiders and campus staff can meet responders and show them the way. One person adds that campus security often hold keys and key cards to every building, so they can get in faster than police who do not have access. Against that, one person says that in a fire or a gas leak, waiting for campus staff to unlock a card-swipe dorm can cost lives, and so puts the 911 call first and the campus call second. Another says campus police, where they are stationed nearby, can be at a scene in under a minute while city response times vary. One person warns that a mobile call may reach 911 with only a general address, so say the building, the floor and the room.

For something that is not an emergency, one person suggests security for minor problems like theft or parking, police for violent crime, and both for stalking, and says that where police presence might make a tense situation worse, security first may be better. Another says to report even small incidents, like a stolen package, to the police, because an official report is what later legal action and resources depend on. These two do not agree, and this page does not choose for you.

A report to the school is not a police report

One person says a school’s disciplinary process does not carry the same legal weight as a police report, even though it can affect your record at the school. One person says schools lack the authority to investigate crimes the way police can.

For sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, the federal rule above says the school’s report must give victims written information about three options: notify the police, on campus and local; be helped by campus authorities to notify them; or decline to notify them. What you do is up to you. A report to the school, a report to the police and getting support are separate things, and you can do one, two or all three. One person warns that telling a faculty or staff member can set a school process going, so ask first who has to pass it on.

If the police do not take a report or the school does not act, this page does not cover what to do next. One person says a complaint can be made directly to the local prosecuting authority if charges are hard to file with either police force, and this page could not check how that works in your state.

Who this page is not for

If someone is in danger now, do not read on: call 911 (999 in the UK). If you are outside the US, none of the report and phone rules here apply. If what is bothering you is a neighbour, a passing car or teenagers harassing you at home, this page does not cover it. If your problem is at a workplace or a hospital, the same question holds, whether this is a report to the institution or to the police, but its rules differ and this page does not cover them. If you want legal advice, ask a lawyer or a victim services centre.

If you have reported to the school and are not sure what comes next, the places below can explain your options.