Campus Security boasts 28 officers who are each equipped with a sidearm, handcuffs, pepper spray and an expandable baton.
The University of Tulsa’s Campus Security is a sizable force for a campus this size. Every day, students can see officers in vehicles, on bikes and walking about campus to do their job of keeping all students safe.
On their page on the university’s website, Campus Security describes their own work: “Campus Security officers comprise the department’s patrol, investigations and administrative divisions and are authorized to arrest and detain individuals on university-owned or controlled property per Oklahoma state statute Title 22, Section 187.”
While they are authorized to arrest and detain, Campus Security is a security force, not a police force.
The site also states security patrols campus year-round, even during the summer.
So what does Campus Security have with them to perform their duties? How large is the force exactly?
We had the opportunity to ask a few brief questions about how Campus Security is equipped.
Campus security states that they have “28 patrol officers who serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are 11 patrol vehicles and eight bicycles.” This is actually quite a lot of security for a school that spans only one block.
As far as how they are all equipped, “the officers are equipped with a sidearm, handcuffs, pepper spray and expandable baton.”
Although they are able to carry all of these items legally, “Campus Security does not have any other equipment beyond what is listed due to its status as a security agency.”
This is a large distinction between a security agency and a police force, since, “State law prohibits security agencies from carrying “long rifles” such as AR-15s.
However in case of a dangerous situation like an active shooter, “Campus Security officers have extensive active shooter training with tactics and sidearms similar to those used by the Tulsa Police Department (TPD).”
On top of that, “Campus Security coordinates with TPD in emergency situations, and TPD can provide additional equipment, if needed.”
Furthemore, “Campus Security has a secure armory.”
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is a reliable source for accurate information on topics like these, but their last update on this topic on their website was from the 2011-2012 school year.
At the time of its release, the BJS reported “about seven in 10 campus law enforcement agencies had a memorandum of understanding or other formal written agreement with outside law enforcement agencies.”
The University of Tulsa is currently in the majority there with “a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Tulsa Police Department that establishes collaboration on reports of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking victims, including off-campus incidents that involve members of the TU community where Tulsa Police provides the law enforcement capabilities on campus.”
The TU campus security team also wanted to make known that “Campus Security officers are available to provide violent critical incident training on how to prepare the campus community in case of active violence on campus. If a student group wants to set up training, it can send a request through the webpage https://utulsa.edu/campus-security/contact/ and it will be contacted to set up a time and location.”
