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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 12, 2015 04:01 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Matthew E. Baker |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Arrest Powers of Campus Police |
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would expand the jurisdiction of campus police officers at the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Under this legislation, campus police officers would have policing authority on all roads geographically surrounding land and buildings that are owned, operated or leased by PASSHE universities. This legislation is needed due to a Superior Court decision in October 2014, in which it was determined that a public road running through a state-owned university campus was not part of the primary jurisdiction of campus police officers. As a result, the court held that a motorist driving under the influence of alcohol could not be legally stopped by a campus police officer. In effect, the driver’s arrest was overturned, despite a field sobriety test and chemical breath test, which revealed that the driver’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit. Ultimately, this decision places additional pressure on municipal police departments in college towns and creates safety concerns for college students and faculty. This legislation amends the Public School Code of 1949 to specifically provide for the definition of “grounds” to include “all highways, roadways and trafficways that traverse or abut such lands and buildings.” Earlier this session, an identical bill—Senate Bill 678, P.N. 785—was introduced by Senator Lloyd Smucker. Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. |