When it comes to patrolling off-campus, the UA and Pima Community College police departments use different approaches.
Both schools employ sworn police officers who are armed, undergo the same training as Tucson Police Department officers, and have the same authority to arrest, either on- or off-campus.
State law requires campus police officers to intervene if they see a serious crime, such as a burglary or assault, unfolding off-campus. But the UA and PCC diverge in their policies regarding minor crimes, such as traffic violations, that occur far from campus.
It was during a traffic stop that a University of Cincinnati police officer fatally shot a motorist July 19 near the school. The now former campus officer has been charged with murder and the incident raised questions nationally about the role of college police.
While the University of Arizona Police Department makes arrests as far away as Pantano Road and Speedway, the PCC police force restricts its role to within a one-mile radius of each of the college’s five campuses.
In general, UAPD officers stay within the department’s “area of responsibility” that extends beyond university property south to Eighth Street, north to Lester Street, west to Euclid Avenue, and east to Campbell, said department spokesman Sgt. Filbert Barrera.
“Imagine the university as a city of about 50,000 that has its own police department,” he said. “Any property that’s used, leased, or controlled by the university we will respond to.”
However, UAPD officers also “frequently” deal with crimes they come across throughout the city, he said.
The 66-officer department has a dedicated traffic enforcement unit that includes five motorcycle officers and a sergeant, Barrera said. Those officers “enforce traffic as they see fit.”
In addition, UAPD has an intergovernmental agreement to help out when TPD is “slammed” with calls.
The UAPD’s daily activity report for the last month of the school year, April 16 to May 16, showed 332 incidents, most of which occurred in the department’s area of responsibility and ranged from traffic violations to assault to breaking and entering.
The report also shows officers conducting a welfare check on East Fort Lowell Road near North Mountain Avenue, a traffic stop on East Broadway near Kolb Road, and a DUI stop on East Speedway near North Pantano Road. They also responded to a theft on Valencia near South Sixth Avenue and other crimes outside their normal area of responsibility.
An internal policy at PCC, on the other hand, directs officers to leave traffic violations that occur far from campus to Tucson police, said college spokeswoman Elizabeth Howell.
The reason for that policy is largely based on the fact that the PCC department normally has 33 sworn officers who serve 24,000 full- and part-time students and move among the five campuses, she said.
“We basically have officers who are traveling all over town all day long,” she said. “If they stopped for everything they saw, they would never get where they’re going.”
The department is down four officers and a chief, she said.
The PCC administration is using the hiring of a new chief as an opportunity to review whether adjacent neighborhoods have changed in recent years and should still be part of the college police’s jurisdiction, she said.
It is not uncommon for campus police to patrol beyond the campus boundaries, but “there is no one size fits all,” said Abigail Boyer, associate executive director for the Clery Center for Security on Campus, a nonprofit that advocates for campus police training and clear reporting about campus crime.
After the fatal shooting of Samuel DuBose by University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing last month, Boyer heard comments questioning the effectiveness of campus police.
But she emphasized that most campus police officers are well-trained and often are retired municipal police officers.
“They are very much needed on our campuses,” she said.
Although UA police patrol farther afield than the PCC, they have their limitations.
The department has a liaison for on-campus residence halls, but the off-campus student housing complexes not owned by the university, such as those found downtown, are considered part of TPD’s jurisdiction, Barrera said.
As for the UA medical school in Phoenix and the Sierra Vista campus, UAPD has agreements with the Phoenix and Sierra Vista police departments to patrol those areas, he said.
There is one far-flung location the UAPD still patrols: Four officers protect the telescopes on Mount Graham and the scientists who work there, Barrera said.
