The role of the Campus Police
Several incidents involving questionable procedures used by the Campus Police have prompted inquiry by the administration into the role of the police.
The issue was raised to the Thresher by Brown College senior Peter Marketos, the plaintiff in a recent case against the university for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution. Marketos was concerned about whom the Campus Police answer to within the university system.
Poor relations with the students?
Marketos was arrested and taken to Harris County jail by Officer Kenneth Nipe in 1993 on the charge of aggravated assault against an officer. Although the charges were dropped, the Campus Police did nothing at the time to inform his college master or the student affairs administration, said Marketos.
"We have the Honor Council, [University] Court and the college courts," Marketos said. "So why was I in Harris County jail without anyone from the university or my family informed, prior to filing charges?"
Marketos spoke of the need for a "fail-safe system" in which university administrators and staff, namely the college masters and the dean of students, should be notified prior or immediately subsequent to a student's arrest.
This concern is not only echoed by the students -- the issue has been discussed repeatedly over past years by various administrators, members of the Campus Police and the Committee of Masters.
The Thresher has obtained copies of internal memos to and from various administrative officials regarding the issue of the Campus Police policy and procedures.
A memo dated December 1993, was sent from Hanszen College Master Dennis Huston to President Malcolm Gillis following a meeting of the Committee of Masters. In the memo, Huston raises the issue of relations between students, administration and the police.
"[The Campus Police] have regularly failed to report incidents involving student violations (of law or policy) to the vice president for student affairs or dean of students, who at least once found out about them only in the Thresher.
"Most disturbing, the Campus Police have taken students to the city jail for minor offenses, particularly smart-mouthing an officer," the memo continues. "In such cases the police seem interested not in the student's welfare but in teaching him a lesson by exercising arbitrary power over him."
According to Dean of Students Sarah Burnett, the university has no official policy with regard to police procedure in the event of a student's arrest by a campus officer. Because the officers are sworn peacekeepers, it is illegal for administration to dictate policies to the police.
With regard to reporting the arrest of a student to school officials, Burnett pointed out that this decision is entirely up to the masters. In the past, some masters have preferred not to be informed until after the situation had been resolved, according to Campus Police Chief Mary Voswinkel.
Voswinkel acknowledged that no official policy exists, but said that the police department and masters have come to the agreement that in the case that a student is arrested by a Campus Police officer, the student's college master and/or the college resident associate will be notified.
In a recent interview, Huston emphasized that these were generally problems of the past.
"In the past, there have been problems in communication between some of the police and some of the masters on various issues," Huston said. "I just felt like they didn't inform us of things we should've known. However, there have been no problems this year."
An unclear role for Campus Police?
In a memo to Gillis dated December 1993, Burnett said, "I think the real issue is that the role of the Campus Police on this university has not been defined adequately."
As recently as March of this year, the Committee of Masters sent a memo to Gillis, Vice President for Finance and Administration Dean Currie, Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration Neill Binford, Voswinkel and Assistant Chief of Police Tom Bickers regarding recurring problems with the Campus Police.
"The interaction of the [Rice Campus Police] with the students at Rice has been a recurring topic of discussion ... To our knowledge, no significant actions ever came from this meeting or previous recommendations of the masters," the memo read.
Both Burnett and Voswinkel also emphasized that as peace officers, the job of the Campus Police is different from that of security personnel. Burnett said that this is a decision about what is best for this particular campus -- security personnel who are subject to university policy and regulations, or more highly-trained sworn officers.
"The main complaints I've had in times past have been solved," Burnett said. "But if it were up to me, I wouldn't design [the system] this way." Burnett mentioned the option of residence life staff that many other universities employ. The residence life staff would oversee student life in the dorms, including enforcement of the alcohol policy. However, Burnett doesn't believe that students would agree with this suggestion.
Burnett also said that the Campus Police's status puts it in a difficult position.
"They want to help the students but are still obligated to uphold the law," Burnett said. "What we could do is not put sworn police officers in these position."
Who is in charge of Campus Police?
Another issue of concern is who the Campus Police answers to. Currently, it is under the auspices of the Office of Finance and Administration. However, many believe that it would be better for the police to report to the Office of Student Affairs.
In Huston's 1993 memo, he said, "The masters strongly recommend that control of Rice's police force be moved next year from Vice President Currie's office to the office of the new Vice President for Student Affairs. If we want our police force to interact in the most effective way with students, we think they should report to the person in the university who has most to do with student affairs."
This issue also takes into account the belief that some cases which are considered minor can be better handled within the system, utilizing the U. Court and the college courts. The masters and the dean of students have original jurisdiction in cases involving violations of university policy.
Burnett believes that the university disciplinary system can handle cases much quicker than the legal system and with comparable results.
In almost every instance where criminal charges were filed against a student, the court has ruled in favor of putting the student on probation, which the dean of students can do, or has simply thrown the case out.
Problems of the past or not?
Although not all the problems have been worked out, there have been definite improvements between the Campus Police and the administration, masters and students.
"I can't say enough about how good a job the individual police officers are doing [now]," Huston said.
Both Voswinkel and Burnett reflected the same feeling. They attribute the improvement, in part, to the recent turnover in Campus Police personnel. Deliberate efforts to find and hire officers who can interact well with the students have been undertaken. The presence of Officers Steve Acker and Ray Scholton at Jones College is an example of these efforts.
"The change made in police staff has made a big difference," said Huston.
"It's not a sanctuary from the law just because we're on campus," Burnett said. "We can't provide protection from the law just because we're a private institution."
Despite these recent changes, Marketos still worries about the independent nature of the Campus Police and the allowances that this status gives to them.
"It happened to me, but it could've happened to you. It could've happened to anyone," he said.
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