Campus Policing

Indeed, for many students, college is a place of "self discovery" where they can mature emotionally and study in preparation for a professional career. But though many high school graduates eagerly anticipate the autonomous lifestyle that college promises, some college students around the U.S. are expressing concern that their personal freedoms are being infringed upon by security-conscious school administrators.

Over the past several years, a number of U.S. colleges and universities have responded to a rise in on-campus criminal activity by ordering an increased police presence on campus. While the sight of security personnel patrolling college property is not especially noteworthy, police officers have controversially begun to patrol areas of campus that students deem sacred--residential dormitories.

From Maine and Massachusetts to Idaho and Washington, colleges are experimenting with dorm police patrols in an attempt to eliminate certain criminal activities--chief among them property theft, illicit drug use and underage drinking. College administrators claim that such patrols will improve security on campus and allay parents' concerns about their children's safety. But at the same time, the augmented police presence has come under heavy fire from both students and civil liberties organizations. Critics complain that the presence of police officers in dorms does little to curb crime while doing much to inconvenience students and violate their right to privacy.

The controversy over campus policing has resulted in numerous student petitions and protests, threatened lawsuits, heated school board meetings and even a handful of court cases. The debate surrounding the patrols revolves around whether college dormitories are intrinsically public or private spaces. If dorms are considered to be public spaces--as some college officials insist they are--then students are without privacy rights on the premises. In that case, police should be able to confront and arrest those who break the law. Alternatively, if residence halls are considered private areas, then students are protected from random police patrols by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prevents police from invading citizens' privacy and conducting searches without a warrant.

Given the desire of some colleges to tone down excessive partying and reduce criminal activity on campus, where should the line be drawn between maintaining campus security and safeguarding students' privacy rights? By implementing dorm patrols, have college administrators gone too far in their attempts to monitor students' behavior? Are there less intrusive means of curbing illegal activities on campus?

Critics of campus policing say there is nothing inherently wrong with colleges' attempts to bolster security on their campuses. But when such security initiatives begin to infringe upon students' inherent right to privacy, then colleges must scale back their efforts, they contend.

Opponents maintain that college dormitories are like students' private homes. Just as most Americans would object to having police officers randomly patrol the hallways of their houses or apartments, so too do college students object to the presence of police in their dorms, critics say. Colleges concerned with campus safety should work to construct more student-friendly security policies in order to create a positive learning and living environment for students, they assert.

Meanwhile, supporters of campus policing defend the practice, arguing that dorm security patrols enhance the safety of both students and the college community at large. By monitoring students' behavior in dormitories, proponents contend, police can curb problematic activities such as excessive drinking and recreational drug use, and create a safer campus environment in the process.

Dorm patrols fall within the boundaries of the law because dormitories are inherently public places, many backers assert. Furthermore, they say, campus security personnel do not actively seek out student lawbreakers; rather, police usually are inside dorms because they are responding to specific complaints or allegations made by other students.

Sources

Bhagwat, Sam. "Students, Shots and Stanford." Stanford Daily, November 6, 2006, daily.stanford.edu.

Bradley, Doug. "University of Wisconsin Recommends Policy Affirming Resident Assistant Rights, Responsibilities." University of Wisconsin System News, March 1, 2006, www.wisconsin.edu.