Campus Cops

[bodei]

Got a question. What have you guys heard/seen/think of College Police Depts. I'm currently applying with the University of Texas System Police. Just curious what regular city/county police think of them. Are alot dirtbags just cruising looking at the girls or do they present themselves as real cops and not campus security. Thanks

[SlowDownThere]

I'll tell you what I think of campus cops. I think they have some of the toughest jobs in policing. I've said it before here too.

You will be dealing with almost entirely 18 to 25 year olds. A group notoriously hard to police. Testorone filled and alcohol fueled, they think they know it all and will challenge you on every point. It's a hard job.

[StalkerCop]

I agree with SlowDown. I cant stand the high school kids in my beat and know it would be worse to deal with them living on their own on campus and driving cars their parents paid for. No respect for traffic law, the public or the Police. I feel for campus police. In Arizona, the universitiy police have the same powers as any city cop.

[BlessedIsHe]

I almost went with a campus police department and turned them down. Not because I dont think they are real cops, because they most certianly are. There were other reasons. One of my concerns was missing out on experiences that municipalities deal with such as domestics, citizens of all ages, larger area and/or jurisdiction, etc. I dont know maybe that was a stupied concern. I also heard that their hands are much more tied, because they have to deal with school administration. For example the agency i was talking about earlier has a chief who reports to head of campus and safety who reports to the school admin. Maybe Im wrong..

Thoughts????????

[knecht]

The police are pretty few in numbers at my campus, which is in the University of California system. I rarely see them outside of the parking lot. Maybe its because there arent too many on campus issues that require their involvement. They also seem to be in charge of making sure doors and buildings are locked and secured, and staff often has to clear special meetings with them if a building is required. I would just hate having to put up with some of the college types though...

[Bigugly]

Campus Police ARE REAL police. They do have to put up with plenty of bul-
-hit from the administration. If city cops don't have respect for campus cops, the problem lies with the city cops.

[BlessedIsHe]

I totally agree.

[UCFJAY]

our police at UCF (university of central florida in orlando, fl) are REAL POLICE for sure. We have our own SWAT team (ERT team), a couple K-9s that are awesome and we are getting a ranch patrol (horses) next year when we get a stamdium on campus, but hey are awesome, we have some cops that are secert service agents as well, so they have FLETC traning and awesome IT skills.

[miked6]

I worked for a large campus deaprtment in Georgia for a while and we handled all the same types of situations as any one else, but the volume was considerably less for violent crime. We did not handle parking or security type functions. I would say that property crime, accidents, and alcohol crime were higher than most small cities, though. It was also very political. Everybodies daddy is somebody, everyone who works there thinks you are there personal security, and the pay isn't great. The county PD was about half and half as far as respect and courtesy. On the plus side; excellent training, free college tuition, good benefits, and the scenary was pretty nice ::wink wink:: It was really a trade off. If you know what you want, and what to expect when you start it has its benefits.

[ATXaardvark]

I just got hired by a school district recently. I am in my first week of FTO at a notorious high school. IT IS CRAZY. I've never been around gangs before and now, only 3 days into my FTO, I know more than I probably would have learned in years at a "regular" PD. On my second day, we had a suicide attempt (pills), a pregnant girl having contractions (within 20 minutes of the suicide attempt), a girl that resisted arrest after a fight, 2 criminal trespass warnings, sat in on a students expulsion hearing for P.O.M., and worked on a warrant for 28 grams of xanax in a classroom. Today was busy too. Anyway, I had my concerns about working there before, but Ive got my hands full with "real" police work already. Its pretty fun so far.

[Sag22]

I worked for a large university (40,000) in the midwest for about three years as an Officer. It really is a challenge dealing with a group of people who are away from home for the first time in a big city with lots of alcohol and hormones :D The other big challenge is most of your subjects are transient. They are only there to go to school and they have no real ties to the community. So when they want to go away, they go away. I really loved the dept I worked for and we got along well with the surrounding muni's. We attended the same academy and had the same powers as all police in the state, the only difference is we were not armed (that is what politics does). Sometimes you will be treated and called 'rent-a-cop' but the work done by Univ Police is difficult but enjoyable.

You also get to do more PR than I think you would get to do at a muni because you have such a centralized community.

[Hogboy]

I don't think many local police disrespect campus cops, but I know they get alot of garbage details like "rope off this parking lot and make sure only important people park there" and direcing traffic at sporting events, etc

[msw]

Early in my L.E. career (almost 30 years ago), I was a Campus Cop for a year. It was good experience; good training; and sort of a good place to "start" an L.E. career. But it was boring, no real action. Couldn't see doing it for an entire career. Consider how many more things you can do, assignments you can have ......... action!!!........ with a big urban PD or Sheriff's Dept vs. a Campus PD.

[Bing_Oh]

There's a certain degree of misunderstanding when it comes to campus police. Some city LEO's see them...incorrectly...as glorified security guards.

I was a campus LEO right out of the academy and I can tell you it's not as easy as it looks.

In reality, campus LEO's can have a very difficult job. They work within a population that's equivelant in size to a small city, but in a much smaller area. The population consists of "citizens" who, generally, are between the ages of 18 and 24, and are experiencing the first real freedom of their lives away from mom and dad. These "citizens" have few major responsabilities, are in an age group which is notorious for being anti-establishment, and almost unfettered access to alcohol. Not to mention that the environment itself is a traditionally liberal one, with a distinct distrust of law enforcement. Then, add in the generally low pay and the security duties they must perform in addition to their law enforcement duties. Doesn't sound all that easy anymore, does it?