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University police forces are common in the United States, and are an explicit legacy of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights protests, and the Kent State Massacre i
by jonathankoren 4y ago
University police forces are common in the United States, and are an explicit legacy of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights protests, and the Kent State Massacre in particular. The idea is that the kids are less likely to be beaten or killed by police that answer to the university.
https://www.vox.com/2015/7/29/9069841/university-of-cincinnati-police https://www.vox.com/2015/7/29/9069841/university-of-cincinna...
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/college-campus-policing/407659/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/colleg...
- dsfyu404ed 4y agoThe marketing may be that interests align but the reality is that police that answer to the university will jump to answer calls that local police forces would get to when they get to, like petty theft of university property, public drunkenness, etc. Transit police, university police, capitol police, boutique police forces like that exist for one reason and one reason only: to prioritize things that the police who would otherwise have jurisdiction would laugh at.
- SoftTalker 4y agoUniversities are also generally exempt from all the taxes that pay for municipal police, so they provide their own. It (sometimes) has a dual educational purpose where they run a law enforcement or criminal justice curriculum and the campus police service provides practical experience for students.
- ethbr0 4y agoWe had a great Atlanta PD major do a Q&A on the GT campus after a string of thefts/muggings. She straight up said something to the effect of "I'm doing the best I can with the resources I have. Your zone also includes Midtown, with bars and commercial. If crime goes up there, owners with more political connections and tax revenue than the university gripe. So that's where most of my resources are." Gotta respect honesty.
- MomoXenosaga 4y agoIf you follow that to its logical conclusion the police would never show up in certain areas of the city. Personally I don't want my country to turn into Sao Paulo or Mexico City. Hell why not a subscription plan for the police? 911 please enter your customer credentials.
- brazzledazzle 4y agoTo some degree this already happens though it's less of a direct subscription or denial of services and more of a function of the taxes and connections in an area. Police officers often have entirely different response times, presence, escalation/deescalation strategies and enforcement policies for wealthy and poor parts of a city.
- WeylandYutani 4y agoGood thing that crime rates are one of the few things that get people to vote in council elections.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago>Hell why not a subscription plan for the police? Because the people who currently have a lot of influence over current policing would be up in arms when that "certain neighborhood" police never show up in roll their own minimum viable solution that a) is not up to their standards b) they cannot exert political influence over.
- chefandy 4y agoBeyond that, you can't exactly cancel a subscription on the public servants you pay. It's not like cops are independent contractors.
- coldtea 4y ago>The idea is that the kids are less likely to be beaten or killed by police that answer to the university. Kids not being beaten up or killed by the police in general wasn't an option?