| New York State University Police | |
| Common name | State University Police |
| Abbreviation | NYSUP |
| Patch of the New York State University Police. | |
| Motto | Protecting New York's Future |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1999 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of New York, USA |
| Legal jurisdiction | New York |
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdiction | Buildings and lands occupied or explicitly controlled by the educational institution and the institution's personnel, and public entering the buildings and immediate precincts of the institution. |
| Operational structure | |
| Police Officers | Approx. 600 |
| Agency executive | David Schindler, Director for University Police |
| Parent agency | State University of New York |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 28 |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The New York State University Police (NYSUP) is the law enforcement agency of the State University of New York (SUNY), the state university system of New York. Approximately 600 uniformed officers and investigators, and 64 chiefs serve the 28 state college and university campuses throughout the state.[1]
State University Police Officers are charged with the detection and prevention of crime and the enforcement of state and local laws and rules and regulations. Officers speak on topics such as sexual assault, drugs, crime prevention, and traffic safety and are responsible for developing and maintaining a positive relationship with students, faculty and staff in order to ensure the safety and cooperation of the entire campus community.
State University Police Officers receive their official powers through the Education Law and the Criminal Procedure law. These authorize a State University Police Officer to make warrantless arrests based on probable cause; to use appropriate force in making an arrest; to issue uniform appearance tickets and traffic summonses and to execute arrest and bench warrants.
One of the things which make the state university police unique, is that for minor offenses Officers (at their discretion) can refer students to the college judicial board instead of pursuing an arrest; however, officers also have the option to arrest students for offsenses and simultaneously refer them to the college judiciary (increasing the capacity for the officers to be a deterrent to crime).
State University Police Officers are assigned to fixed or rotating shifts involving patrol assignments or dispatch/desk posts.
Officers also can take advantage of statewide promotional opportunities.[2]
Unlike the NYS Park Police each SUNY PD operates as its own police department, although it would be cheaper and more efficient to centralize the department, the SUNY administration and state legislature have continued to fight moves to centralize the police department.
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The New York State University Police were formed in response to the growing unrest that was taking place through the SUNY system during the mid-1960s. Demonstrations and protests against the Vietnam War, the growing use of drugs, the questioning of authority, political movements with their sit-in demonstrations all contributed to the formation of today's State University Police. Several incidents during the 1990s brought the need for a full service police agency to the forefront. These included a hostage-taking in a SUNY Albany lecture hall by a deranged gunman,[3] the "Bike Path Rapist" who killed a female student at the University at Buffalo,[4] and the suspicious circumstances regarding the disappearance of a SUNY Albany student while on campus.[5] While no longer in the forefront of the public mind, these and other incidents moved the Governor and Legislature to create the New York State University Police in 1999. Today the State University Police provide much needed services to the university community. Through community policing, the NYSUP reaches out not only to the immediate campus community, but to the surrounding communities as well. Officers have the powers of arrest, issue uniform traffic tickets, and enforce all New York State penal laws.[6]
While initial trainees were once trained at the New York State Police Academy in Albany, NY, prospective new officers are now trained at the regional Zone academies in the area in which they are first stationed. Training at these academies is rigorous and meets or exceeds New York State Department of Criminal Justice Standards for Police Officers. The Police Officer Basic Course includes training in:
Each new officer must then complete a minimum of twelve weeks of on-the-job training assigned to a Field Training Officer at their respective campus.[8]
Depending on location and training, New York State University Police Officers may be selected for specialized units that allow the agency to better serve the community. Some of these units include:
The New York State University Police also has a Criminal Investigations Unit, a plainclothes unit responsible for both criminal and non-criminal investigations. Criminal Investigators train in a broad variety of investigative topics such as Sexual Assault Investigations, Domestic Violence, Computer and White Collar Crimes, Homicide and Evidence Collection and Preservation.[10]
The audit of SUNY compliance with the Clery act was appealed because of complaints that "accounting tricks" were used to find fault with Annual Security Reports (ASR) by the Office of the State Comptroller. After much discussion and negotion, OSC issued a formal letter that stated that any discrepancies reported in an earlier audit had been corrected by SUNY, and that campuses were substantially in compliance.