Can campus police pull you over off campus?
As a university student, you may not always know what to do when encountering campus police in various situations. One frequently asked question is whether campus police can pull you over off-campus. In this article, we will explore this question in detail, taking into account the laws, regulations, and policies regarding campus police and their scope of jurisdiction.
Geographic Limitations
Most campus police departments have well-defined geographical boundaries within which they can exercise their authorities. This is typically understood as the university’s primary campus area, including main buildings, dormitories, parking lots, and sometimes even peripheral areas like playgrounds, sports fields, or maintenance facilities.
On the other hand, their jurisdiction can be limited on the opposite side of their designated "fence-line" – usually the beginning of residential areas, or where they are not able to interact with the host community police department. Nevertheless, their jurisdiction can further extend through the use of Shared Jurisdiction Protocols, where they and local authorities agree to participate in certain joint operations on shared public areas.
Can campus police really pull you over off campus?
Law Enforcement Agencies’ Jurisdictions
It is significant to highlight that campus police jurisdictions are unique and distinct from those of local law enforcement agencies, which are equipped to cover the entire service area under their jurisdiction (TABLE 1)
| Force | Jurisdiction | Scope | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campuses | Campus Police, Local Policing | Off-campus services | Limited jurisdictions |
| Local Police | Local Communities, Merged Jurisdiction | Multi- jurisdiction cooperation | Expanded jurisdiction |
Understanding the above, it can’t be assumed a priori that college campus law enforcement agencies and local policing forces have exclusive jurisdiction beyond the campus precincts; instead, mutual agreements for joint operations through shared jurisdictions allow for closer collaboration to achieve common public order goals across the various boundaries.
Campus law enforcement agencies rely on protocols for shared response, crime reporting, officer training, and communication processes to help address the often-complex, multi-unit issues involved in policing various settings with multiple jurisdictions ([6]). Here, jurisdictional boundaries define the legal scope of any given institution, but those boundaries, when shared via agreements or Memoranda of Understanding (MoU’s), often create scenarios where campus enforcement can continue their duties along the interface, even for incidents in nearby areas just outside of their primary purview.
