The University’s Department of Public Safety hosted its second “Coffee with the Chief” event Wednesday, in hopes to answer questions the campus community has about the department’s potential switch to a sworn police force.
The three DPS officers in attendance outnumbered the students and concerned Eugene citizens at the event, which was hosted in the Gerlinger Lounge and lasted for an hour and a half.
During the small, informal discussion, the officers casually chatted with students and community members in attendance about their concerns surrounding pending changes to the campus security force.
The issue of DPS becoming an armed, sworn police force relies on two bills presented in the 2011 Oregon legislative session. According to a flyer handed out at the event, 98 percent of public campuses in the U.S. the size of this University have their own police forces. When asked why the University falls in the other two percent, DPS Chief Doug Tripp cited “the nature of Oregon and the culture of the University in particular.”
“In recent years, (there has) been confidence that the Department of Public Safety can move to the next level,” Tripp said.
That “next level” depends on the future of Senate Bill 116, which is an Oregon University System proposal, and Senate Bill 405, which is a Senate Judiciary Committee bill.
If passed, the currently unarmed DPS would transition into a police force with full arresting authority, the ability to investigate crimes and the potential to carry weapons. For comparison, the University of California at Berkeley has a sworn police force.
The reasoning for the switch, according to DPS literature, revolves around the fact that the University is about the size of a small city and “should be protected by police officers who know the campus and prioritize safety for the students, faculty and staff.”
“I think essentially that if this moves forward, students will in general not really see the difference on a day-to-day difference,” Tripp said. “I think that the majority of students are neutral on the issue; students in general are familiar with police.”
Although Tripp agreed that he would have liked to see more students among the meeting’s numbers, he felt confident that continued DPS outreach efforts will be more popular.
“Would we like to see more students here today? Absolutely,” Tripp said. “But that doesn’t mean that today is their only opportunity. We engage students on a regular basis on this issue, as well as general public safety issues here on campus.”
Tripp said he thought the event’s low turnout was because there is no direct opposition to DPS possibly becoming a sworn police agency.
“(The low turnout) could reflect the sense by a majority of students that this is a good thing, and they have no direct opposition to us moving in this direction,” Tripp said.  
Assistant DPS Chief Carolyn McDermed added the low turnout could be because the term is almost over, and students are busy with finals approaching.
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