As the University pushes to have the Oregon legislature vote to have its Department of Public Safety become a sworn police force, questions still remain about what the department’s jurisdiction would become.
Currently, DPS does have arresting powers and in certain circumstances can and has transported individuals to prison at the request of the Eugene Police Department or other local and cooperating law enforcement agencies.
However, as a campus public safety agency, DPS is limited in some areas when it comes to making arrests, investigating crimes and establishing court cases with the Lane County District Attorney — primarily with circuit court cases — without the assistance of other law enforcement agencies. DPS does have the power to bring cases involving some misdemeanor crimes forward in Eugene Municipal Court. These violations could include open bottle or alcoholic container, minor in possession, criminal trespassing and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
In the event that DPS makes an arrest and gathers evidence in a suspected crime that could be considered a felony, DPS could investigate these instances but would still have to rely on other law enforcement agencies, likely the Eugene police, to present these cases to the Lane County DA’s office, said DPS Lt. Casey Boyd.
“Even on some of the misdemeanor crimes depending on where the investigation leads us, we can’t submit it directly to the DA’s office,” Boyd said. “We can’t submit anything directly to the district attorney’s office.”
Lt. Brandon Lebrecht specified the variety of misdemeanor crimes that DPS is capable of carrying through to municipal court and investigating.
He and Boyd said minor in possession of alcohol, minors consuming alcohol and individuals being found with less than a gram of marijuana are all typical of the kinds of misdemeanor crimes DPS responds to. However, Boyd said there were limits in the department in handling misdemeanor crimes relating to certain kinds of sexual abuse and domestic disturbances.
Boyd said DPS, under its current setup, would not have the resources necessary to investigate and present evidence to the DA’s office even if it were allowed to.
Boyd also said that if it were to gain this authority after implementation of the Campus Policing Initiative and the passing of legislation like Senate Bill 116 or Senate Bill 405 allowing for it, DPS would need to be properly trained and staffed for conducting the variety of investigations and handling of evidence necessary to present cases to the Lane County DA. These are capabilities it does not currently have.
Aside from patrolling the main campus, DPS is also responsible for patrolling and law enforcement duties on campus property not directly on the main campus. These include University-owned, off-campus housing facilities, the areas and sports complexes around Autzen Stadium, the riverfront properties and even the residences of the University president and chancellor. Properties owned by the University in Portland, Bend and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, Ore., are also covered. If DPS were to become a sworn police agency it would theoretically have state-wide jurisdiction, though it would likely establish agreements with EPD as to where DPS should be active, said DPS Patrol Officer Sean Brathwaite on a DPS ride-along Wednesday evening.
Because DPS must patrol areas that belong to the University but aren’t directly connected to campus, it must drive outside its immediate jurisdiction to reach these exterior areas. DPS does not have arresting authority in these areas outside of the authority given to everyone under citizen’s arrest. However, Brathwaite said DPS policy prohibits its officers from making citizen’s arrests outside of University property.
Brathwaite said if he saw a crime being committed in these areas he would follow individuals involved and coordinate with DPS dispatch to direct Eugene police to the scene. Brathwaite, a former member of EPD, said response times for Eugene police on campus can vary, and that he would prefer to be able to transport suspects to jail directly instead of waiting for EPD’s cooperation, as he must now. Brathwaite said Eugene police can take as long as four hours to arrive on campus after being called by DPS dispatch.
The Campus Policing Initiative, and the associated SB 116 and SB 405 currently being considered the Oregon State legislature, would allow DPS to become a sworn police agency, and all of its police officers would have to undergo the required training under the Oregon State Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to become a sworn officer.
Controversially for some, however, would be the idea that DPS as a sworn agency would be able to allow its officers to carry firearms. Concerns that the Campus Policing Initiative would also cost too much money have also been raised, though a fiscal impact statement for SB 116 released by the Oregon University System showed that a sworn agency would have a minimal fiscal impact.
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