NCJ Number
162933
Journal
Campus Law Enforcement Journal Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1996) Pages: 3-7
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The role of campus security police departments at universities and colleges throughout the United States is evolving from one previously focused on protecting property to one also concerned with protecting students, and this role may give rise to civil liability in several ways.
Abstract
Campus police departments have a unique responsibility in the college setting to provide security services that meet both law enforcement and private security standards. Providing security for large numbers of students spread over expansive geographic areas is an inherently difficult task. Further, most campus crime involves student assaults on each other, often in circumstances involving alcohol abuse, and date rape at social gatherings is not an infrequent occurrence. A complicating factor in campus security is that local police departments do not always recognize the authority of the campus law enforcement community. These circumstances, issues, and conflicting roles place campus security police in a position of potential liability. The strength of liability cases usually depends on evidence establishing that university employees had sufficient information before an assault to prove it was foreseeable. Courts differ, however, on how claimants must establish foreseeability. Additional liability issues concern charitable immunity, the personal liability of campus police officers, juror evaluation of a person's conduct based on the rule of reasonableness, and campus police responsibility for fraternities. Universities need to plan carefully to hold the incidence of violent crime to a minimum. At the same time, to the extent that fear of liability serves to increase campus security, lawsuits will continue to play an important role in protecting student health and safety. 8 references