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The French have their national Police and also 'Gendarmes' which are like police, but I think a branch of the Armed forces. I'm not so sure of the history, but

The French have their national Police and also 'Gendarmes' which are like police, but I think a branch of the Armed forces. I'm not so sure of the history, but it's not so crazy that there are 'two' so long as roles are clear etc.. Nation states are funny things. They change slowly :) One thing is for certain: there should be more control over who gets to be a 'cop' and the training and ultimate badge authority should be centralized at least at the state level. This idea of 'Universities' hiring their own cops ... with authority to arrest ... who is in charge of them exactly? I mean, in France they have 'two systems' but as far as I remember that covers everything and there are only 2 kinds of police uniforms that I ever saw. If there is one goofball cop/gendarme, his case will go pretty high up. Not to the 'dean' of the local college or whatever. Or to 'an elected guy' from some village.

leguman_ac 9y ago
Gendarmerie is indeed part of the military in France. You mainly see them in rural areas/villages while regular cops are found in urban areas. When national service was still compulsory, young people could even choose to do it as a gendarme.
vinay427 9y ago
University cops, assuming we are talking about those that are actual police departments, are authorized by their respective states to perform that duty. It operates similarly to any other police department, which means they have the rights and responsibilities of any other police officer. In my state, they are also required to have a public oversight committee with elected representatives, and I assume this is not uncommon in other states. In most, and perhaps all, states, there are state-level commissions to handle cases of problem cops. However, I will be the first to admit that they don't always work as intended.
- KekDemaga 9y ago
  They do also have their own kangaroo courts that lack due process for some unexplained reason though: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/01/30/the-dangers-of-gutting-due-process-in-campus-sexual-assault-cases/?utm_term=.c4770734e241 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...
  - rtkwe 9y ago
    I'm not sure there's going to ever be a good happy ground on sexual assault cases that'll please everyone, just due to the nature of the crime. Ultimately a lot of the cases are going to boil down to a he said she said even with evidence that something actually happened. Given all that though there were definitely big issues with how cases were handled before though, as a reaction there's been perhaps an over correction.

leguman_ac 9y ago

Gendarmerie is indeed part of the military in France. You mainly see them in rural areas/villages while regular cops are found in urban areas. When national service was still compulsory, young people could even choose to do it as a gendarme.

vinay427 9y ago

University cops, assuming we are talking about those that are actual police departments, are authorized by their respective states to perform that duty. It operates similarly to any other police department, which means they have the rights and responsibilities of any other police officer. In my state, they are also required to have a public oversight committee with elected representatives, and I assume this is not uncommon in other states. In most, and perhaps all, states, there are state-level commissions to handle cases of problem cops. However, I will be the first to admit that they don't always work as intended.

KekDemaga 9y ago
They do also have their own kangaroo courts that lack due process for some unexplained reason though: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/01/30/the-dangers-of-gutting-due-process-in-campus-sexual-assault-cases/?utm_term=.c4770734e241 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...
- rtkwe 9y ago
  I'm not sure there's going to ever be a good happy ground on sexual assault cases that'll please everyone, just due to the nature of the crime. Ultimately a lot of the cases are going to boil down to a he said she said even with evidence that something actually happened. Given all that though there were definitely big issues with how cases were handled before though, as a reaction there's been perhaps an over correction.