Comparing the Practices and Policies of Sworn and Non-Sworn Campus Police Departments Within the Context of the Campus Security Act of 1990

• NCJ Number: 177871
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 9 Issue: 3-4 Dated: September/December 1998 Pages: 261-278
• Author(s): Max L. Bromley; Brian A. Reaves
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper examines the extent to which sworn campus police agencies and nonsworn security departments differ regarding policies and practices linked to provisions of the Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act.

Abstract

The Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act requires post-secondary institutions to develop and promulgate an annual report that presents campus crime data and describes policies and practices that have been enacted to address and prevent campus crimes. The data for this study were adapted from the Bureau of Justice Statistics report entitled "Campus Law Enforcement Agencies 1995" (Reaves and Goldberg, 1996), which provides the most comprehensive information on campus police agencies compiled to date. The current study used a subset of departments from these data. The data pertain to 578 agencies that provide police and security services to approximately 89 percent of the students enrolled in 4-year institutions. A total of 450 of the agencies employed sworn officers, and 126 employed non-sworn security personnel. A total of 452 of the 578 departments had arrest authority, and 83 percent of the sworn departments were armed; 8 percent of the non-sworn agencies employed armed officers. A review of the data on the policies and practices of sworn and non-sworn agencies shows that many agencies have policies and practices that comply with specific provisions of the Act. Currently, campuses with sworn departments use a higher proportion of operational practices that are linked to provisions of the Act compared to non-sworn agencies. There is a need for improvement in alcohol and drug education as well as self- defense, particularly on campuses with non-sworn agencies. Both sworn and non-sworn departments are weak with regard to victim assistance and hate crimes. If the campus police are not able to offer these programs, then other police agencies or on-campus departments, such as a counseling center, should be used. 10 tables and 16 references