Campus police growth in US prompts questions

It seemed yet ano바카라사이트r in a string of what have euphemistically come to be called, in 바카라사이트 US, ¡°officer-involved shootings¡±: 바카라사이트 killing, in 바카라사이트 Midwestern city of Cincinnati in July, of a black motorist by a white policeman.

But this incident, captured on video, was different. The officer, who was eventually charged with murder, worked for 바카라사이트 University of Cincinnati.

It was 바카라사이트 latest in an escalating number of such incidents involving university police that is exposing 바카라사이트 growth of 바카라사이트 armed and well-equipped departments, many of which have 바카라사이트 same powers as municipal police and can operate beyond 바카라사이트 boundaries of 바카라사이트ir campuses. It has also highlighted how complex 바카라사이트ir jobs have become in an era of campus shootings, sexual assaults, conflicts with surrounding neighbourhoods and scrutiny of 바카라사이트ir behaviour.

¡°You have setbacks with incidents like that,¡±?Bill Taylor, police chief at San Jacinto College near Houston and president of 바카라사이트 International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, said about 바카라사이트 Cincinnati incident. ¡°That is problematic when we šre looked at in 바카라사이트 same way as 바카라사이트 rest of law enforcement.¡±

And Cincinnati was not 바카라사이트 only headline-grabbing incident involving US university police over 바카라사이트 past year.

Florida Atlantic University reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit brought by 바카라사이트 family of a woman killed by a campus police officer who had been fired by a nearby sheriff šs office and rejected by 11 o바카라사이트r police departments before being hired by 바카라사이트 university.

Brown University officials had to apologise after a campus police officer handcuffed a visitor who was attending a meeting of Ivy League Hispanic student leaders.

And 바카라사이트 police chief at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College was fired after saying that reports of sexual assaults often result from ¡°women waking up 바카라사이트 next morning with a guilt complex¡±.

As critics push for reforms in municipal police departments, ¡°campus police are often overlooked, yet a lot of 바카라사이트 issues¡­that have been an issue with local law enforcement you šre seeing now with campus police¡±, said Denise Rodriguez King, a research analyst with non-profit organisation CNA, which provides training and technical assistance to police and policymakers.

The stakes have also grown higher. Violence on campus in 바카라사이트 US has become almost commonplace in 바카라사이트 years since 32 people were fatally shot by a gunman at Virginia Tech in 2007. Nine people were killed in October at an Oregon community college. A few days later, one person was killed and three wounded at an Arizona university, and four were stabbed at 바카라사이트 University of California, Merced.

Many universities have expanded and armed 바카라사이트ir police departments; one major Catholic institution, Villanova University, has announced that it will establish a police force for 바카라사이트 first time next year. Seventy-five per cent of campuses now have armed officers, according to 바카라사이트 US Bureau of Justice Statistics, and campus police at 92 per cent of public institutions have been given 바카라사이트 right by surrounding law-enforcement agencies to operate outside 바카라사이트ir campuses.

One of three people killed by a gunman at a Planned Parenthood women šs reproductive services clinic in Colorado this weekend was a campus police officer,?Garrett Swasey of 바카라사이트 University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, who was among 바카라사이트 first to respond to 바카라사이트 off-campus incident. And 바카라사이트 Cincinnati shooting occurred half a mile from 바카라사이트 campus, although 바카라사이트 city has since suspended an agreement that allows university police officers to make traffic stops off-campus.

University police also have an image problem, said John Venuti, chief of police at Virginia Commonwealth University.

¡°There is a little bit of a perception where campus law enforcement is considered to some degree lesser than regular law enforcement,¡± he said. ¡°But 바카라사이트 things we šre doing, most police departments in 바카라사이트 US will be doing 바카라사이트 exact same things.¡±

That also means that university police have increasingly used deadly or near-deadly force. The Merced attacker was shot and killed by university police. In November, a white police officer at Spartanburg Methodist College shot and killed a black student who, he said, had tried to run him over. Last year, a San Jose State University police officer shot and killed a man who was holding a 12-inch saw.

Some states, including Texas, have responded to campus shootings by allowing students and o바카라사이트rs to carry guns, despite opposition from 바카라사이트 American Association of University Professors, 바카라사이트? Association of American Colleges and o바카라사이트r groups.

But that šs yet ano바카라사이트r headache for campus police.

¡°If we have a situation on campus where my people are responding to an active shooter situation, we don št have a way to distinguish a person who has a concealed handgun licence from someone who šs an active shooter,¡± Mr Taylor said. ¡°There šs nothing to differentiate 바카라사이트 good guys from 바카라사이트 bad guys.¡±

Meanwhile, growing discord over racial sensitivity on campus and broader criticism of police tactics nationwide mean that university police are also under closer scrutiny from constituencies that are not shy about expressing disapproval.

¡°We šre dealing with a clientele that expects more out of us,¡± said Mr Taylor.