US Police Forces

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

I have a question arising from coverage of the shooting at Virginia Tech, but not related to it. For that reason I didn't feel it appropriate to ask the question on the existing thread and possibly divert it.

The question is about police forces in the US. The footage of the incident showed a number of vehicles marked "Virginia Tech Police" Is this a force independent of the main state police force, or is it in some way attached to it? If independent, where does their jurisdiction end? If part of the main force, why give it a seperate name?
I hope nobody thinks the question insensitive at this time, but it really does intrigue me.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Many Campuses have there own Security.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

This is a campus police force. The deal mostly with campus issues but hold the same authority as any police force. They work very close with town and state police forces. They make use of horses sometimes and have K-9S.
They are schooled in many ares that is found on any college campus.
I might add, a great bunch of men and women.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Thanks for that. Just to clarify - they are employees of the college / university, not the city or state, but have full police powers? Would they have the authority to arrest somebody off campus committing a crime that was not related to the campus?
Sorry if these seem like daft questions, but it's not a setup we are familiar with in the UK. Many establishments over here may have their own security staff, but they are not police and do not have police powers.

[Dave M Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave M]

There is no universal answer to your question, Keith. The most accurate answer would probably be, "It varies."

Some campuses and private companies have security personnel that do not have police powers. Some do have police powers that have been granted by local governments. How much power they have would depend on what the agreement is between the campus and the local government.

The campus police are generally either university employees or contracted through another entity. Again, it varies.

[rod Member Find all posts View Profile Close rod]

There are several independent levels of police within the various states of the USA, as specified by the laws of each state. And, each state has its own laws concerning the selection and required qualifications of police officers.

In the case of Virginia, the Virginia State Police has full police authority anywhere in Virginia.

The County Sheriff, who is an elected official but must meet certain qualifications as required by the state in order to hold the position, along with his deputies has full police authority anywhere within the county, but no authority outside their county. Blacksburg is in Montgomery County.

A city, town, or village may also have its own independent police force; in this case it is the City of Blacksburg. The officers of the Blacksburg Police Department have full police authority anywhere within the city, but no authority outside the city limits.

Then we come to a grey area. Many states, but not necessarily all, allow a college or university to have its own independent police force with full police authority on the college campus, but no authority off the campus. In this case, it is the Virginia Tech Police Department.

The following is from the web site of the police department of another state university in Virginia, and should also apply to Virginia Tech:

The University Police Department is a full-service, sworn, accredited law enforcement agency devoted to the welfare of the university community. The department enforces state laws and university policy on all property owned or controlled by the university as well as on adjacent streets and sidewalks.

University police share concurrent jurisdiction with the city police department for streets adjacent to the university property. University police offer assistance in all areas of the city when needed by the city police.

The officers of this department are vested with full law enforcement powers and responsibilities, identical to the local police or sheriff's department in your home community.

Confusing, isn't it? And I did not even get into other facets of American law enforcement such as the position of Constable, which is most commonly a separate and independent elected law enforcement official of a township or village, not a rank.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

I'm beginning to wish I hadn't started this

OK, hypothetical situation - Somebody steals a laptop computer from the campus. Person is seen and chased by Campus Police but gets off campus and gets out of the city limits. From the example 'rules of engagement' outlined by Rod it seems the campus police could pursue thief into the city, but what happens when thief crosses city boundary? Can they just stand there making rude signs at the officers of the law knowing they are out of their jurisdiction?
It's difficult to get my head around all the different levels and type of police as we really only have one police force covering the equivalent of a US state, or number of states.

[Oracle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Oracle]

While the example of the stolen laptop is trivial, in most cases, pursuit allows the crossing of jurisdictional boundaries. The pursuing officers can give authority over to the new police unit but they can maintain control and ask for assistance from the other forces. This includes state lines. In practice, if it looks like the person is attempting to flee across boundaries, the pursuing officers will radio for assistance before they cross into another area.

If another jurisdiction makes the stop they will detain the subject until the original police force arrives. The only thing that might come into play is that if the subject crosses a state line, then there might have to be an extradition hearing, but I don't think that is the case if there is a pursuit in progress.

fresh pursuit
n. immediate chase of a suspected criminal by a law enforcement officer, in which situation the officer may arrest the suspect without a warrant. It can also refer to chasing a suspect or escaped felon into a neighboring jurisdiction in an emergency, as distinguished from entering another jurisdiction with time to alert law enforcement people in that area. Example: when a deputy sheriff from Montgomery County pursues a car driven by a suspected bank robber into Baltimore County (in which he normally has no power to enforce the law), the doctrine of fresh pursuit allows him/her to make the arrest. It is also called hot pursuit.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Is Virginia Tech a state school or a private school?

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Thanks Oracle,

I couldn't imagine that the scenario I outlined would actually be the reality.

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

Is Virginia Tech a state school or a private school?

State

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

Thanks Oracle,

I couldn't imagine that the scenario I outlined would actually be the reality.

Actually, the scenario could be reality depending on the state you live in. Remember, the US is a nation of states, and state laws govern most criminal actions in the states. It is not uncommon for state police to give up a chase when the person being chased crosses a state line. However, they have usually radioed ahead for the other state's police to be ready to pick up the chase.

In a former life, I lived in a small town in the midwest and was a part time assistant prosecuting attorney and part time city attorney. The city police did not have the power to pursue traffic violators outside the city limits. Sheriffs and their deputies did have arrest authority statewide, even though their main jurisdiction was their county. To get around some of the restrictions, our city police officers would be deputized as unpaid sheriff's deputies.

[nursetanya1973 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nursetanya1973]

military police?

Speaking of police in the videos, what was with the army-like uniforms? My husband pointed them out to me in the footage. The were wearing fatigues with sheriff stuff over them.

If they are police, why would they have such uniforms? And if they are actually military, is that against the constitution?