Like all areas of law enforcement, university policing carries certain risks and liabilities. Departments should prioritize risk mitigation to protect themselves and their officers from these threats. 

Universities can develop thoughtful policies and practices by better understanding the complex duties and vulnerabilities of campus safety teams. Informed university procedures help police officers protect educational communities. This protection should include police officer liability insurance to secure the department’s financial well-being.

Understanding Risks in University Policing

University police departments face unique challenges when keeping campuses safe. Large, open campuses often have changing populations of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. These factors can make monitoring security threats difficult. University police also interact with community members during sensitive situations involving mental health crises, sexual assault cases, underage drinking violations, or illegal substance use and possession.

Legally, university police officers have the same responsibilities and liabilities as other law enforcement agencies. Police misconduct, use of excessive force, infringement of civil liberties, or failure to protect campus constituents can lead to lawsuits. 

Without proper risk mitigation policies, university police departments face significant vulnerabilities. Proactive steps can help limit problematic incidents. Departments should have ongoing officer training, crisis intervention programs, community oversight committees, and regular policy reviews. 

Strategies for Mitigating Risk

Training and professional development prepare officers to address campus policing challenges. Proper training promotes bias awareness, cultural competence, mediation, and crisis intervention skills. 

Clear, ethical policing policies and procedures set standards for officer conduct and response protocols. They cover appropriate use of force, traffic and crowd control tactics, evidence handling, underage drinking enforcement, and minority community interactions. Reviewing policies regularly ensures they align with campus values and address ongoing vulnerabilities.

Technology, including security cameras, emergency notification systems, and computer-aided dispatch, also improves campus safety. Body-worn cameras, when managed appropriately, provide transparency around police interactions and boost accountability. Some universities even use gunshot detection or license plate recognition technologies.

Ongoing community dialogue, advisory councils, and outreach efforts also strengthen campus-police relations.

Police Officer Liability Insurance

As university police face growing responsibilities and scrutiny, more campuses recognize the value of police professional liability insurance. This specialized coverage protects officers and departments against allegations of excessive force, discrimination, failure to provide adequate security, and other claims of misconduct or negligence. Police liability insurance policies cover legal defense costs, settlements, and court judgments up to defined limits. When evaluating plans, university risk managers should consider excluded high-risk conduct, the claims process, insurer reputation, and costs per officer. 

Keeping Campuses Safe

Inadequate training, lack of accountability, and gaps in policy can create risk exposures for officers and campus members. Through ongoing training, community engagement, policy reviews, and forward-thinking use of technologies, universities can implement thoughtful risk mitigation strategies for their police departments. 

Should preventive measures fail and alleged incidents occur, having established police officer liability insurance shows an institution’s good faith while covering resulting legal expenses. This approach demonstrates a university’s commitment to accountable and ethical policing practices. 

Comprehensive coverage shields the institution financially and helps rebuild trust if incidents arise. With diligence and care around officer conduct, universities enable police departments to focus on their responsibilities with a clear mind. Contact us today to see how we can help.

About PGUI

Professional Governmental Underwriters, LLC., is a full-service risk management company dedicated to assisting public, educational, and non-profit entities in the management of their professional liability exposures, including educators liability insurance. We are dedicated to providing state-of-the-art professional underwriting management and loss control advisory services on behalf of our designated carriers. For more information, call us toll-free at (800) 586-6502.