A lot of big colleges have their own police
departments. They are staffed with sworn officers who have the ability
to investigate everything from burglaries to murder. Depending on the
type of transgression and how it gets reported, some alleged crimes are
dealt with in on-campus proceedings and some are passed on to local
prosecutors. One of the most troubling aspects of the Penn State scandal
is that school officials who were notified that a young boy was
allegedly raped in a campus shower in 2002 did not report the incident
to local authorities.
1 Comments in Response to Crime on Campus: Do Colleges Have Too Much Power?
YES!
Just because colleges and universities have managed to con the system to the point of establishing their own so-called "police departments" doesn't in any way mean that they have any "ability" to do much of anything - at least anything that might resemble competent law enforcement.
If you have a child in some intitution of "higher learning" - particularly a female, check the school's record regarding their adherence to the Clery Act (if they receive funding from a government source): The act requires them to provide information on campus crime; most don't really follow the guidelines; of particular interest should be the number of rapes and sexual assaults.
Many such schools don't even require "real" POST certifications for their rent-a-cops. At "my" school, the so-called chief openly admitted that his department wasn't going to enforce a state law, because HE didn't understand it - Do tell!
It's probable that many crime stats from many schools are ignored, "cooked", or simply not compiled: Does it seem even a little likely to anyone that schools - whose only real purpose is to make money and keep "academics" off the streets - might be somewhat unwilling to tell the parents of future students that their kids are going to be in danger, while attending the college of their choice?
Law enforcement at its best is questionable. Pretend law enforcement is a dangerous, ludicrous farce!