In this article, we take a look at the 20 universities with the largest police departments in the US. If you would like to skip our detailed analysis of university police, you can directly go to the 5 Universities with the Largest Police Departments in the US.
Campus Police – An Overview
According to a 2018 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 25,000 full-time sworn officers were serving public buildings and facilities in the US. Almost half of these, 13,000, worked for one of the 510 campus police departments functioning in 4-year public universities and colleges nationwide. There were also 303 police departments serving police districts, which collectively employ 5,600 full-time sworn officers. Previously, in 2012, the Bureau had also reported that almost 75% of American college campuses had their own police department. This is the latest figure available from the department. However, data aside, the presence of law enforcement agencies on a university campus has been a topic of contention for long. While reservations have been sounded out for a long time, the ‘Cops Off Campus’ Coalition formalized itself in the summer of 2020 after reports of police brutality increased around the country, according to the Coalition’s official website.
According to the Coalition, campuses across North America have historically increased budgets for their police departments. This is supported by recent as well as old figures. On February 28, 2024, FOX 5 Atlanta reported that the University of Georgia had announced an investment of $7.3 million into improving campus safety, 20% of which had been allotted to the UGA Police Department. According to data by Longwood University, its campus security operational budget has increased 83% since 2012, with $1.3 million being awarded in additional funding. The number of full-time officers per student has seen a 24% increase since 2015. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report released in January 2015 mentioned that from 2005 to 2012, there had been a 16% increase in full-time campus law enforcement employment. In contrast, student enrollment had only grown by 11% during the same period.
The BJS report further elaborates that 94% of all sworn officers carry guns, 94% carry chemical or pepper spray, and 93% carry batons. Thus, the money isn’t just spent on hiring more officers but also on equipping them with the tools considered necessary for crime prevention or investigation. However, the Coalition believes funds from this area can be invested in education, housing, and mental healthcare instead. Before the coalition existed formally, there were still those asking for the removal of armed campus police. In 2018, an officer from the University of Chicago Police Department shot an undergraduate student, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. This led to the students mobilizing to form a #CareNotCops Chapter on their campus, asking for police reform. The efforts have continued even after the Coalition. On February 8, 2023, The Stanford Daily reported that students had been rallying and protesting on campus, asking for the campus police to be abolished. The protest started after an officer of the university’s police department had pointed his gun at a black man during a traffic stop. You can also take a look at 20 Countries that Spend the Most on Education.
Are The Students Safer?
The question of whether the investment in campus police is necessary comes down to whether their presence makes a difference. A 2022 study by East Tennessee State University found that on a scale of 1 to 5, students had a mean satisfaction of 3.27 with the visibility of public safety officers on campus. Other security variables, such as mass notification systems (3.84) and ID-card restricted areas (3.77), presented higher values of average satisfaction. A 2014 study by Dennis E. Gregory and Chad Patton surveyed 11,161 community college students from Virginia. It discovered that while there was a slight difference between the safety perception of students on campuses with police as compared to those without, it was not significant. The campus that was perceived as the safest by its students had employed only one part-time security guard, that too during the evening hours. Thus, the study concluded that instead of making heavy investments in entire departments, campuses must make an individual analysis of the particular security requirements of their students.
The Need and The Solution
On one side, we have students and community members pushing to defund campus police departments; on the other, some wish for them to be strengthened. According to a FOX 5 Atlanta article, published on February 26, UGA’s decision to invest more in security measures came in light of a student’s murder on campus. After Laken Hope Riley’s death, a student-led petition for blue light emergency call boxes received 25,000 signatures. If students and parents find campuses unsafe, it’s only natural for them to demand better security measures. Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON), a company providing products and solutions for law enforcement, has pointed out in an article that campus police have a higher focus on crime prevention, safety training, medical emergency response, and peacekeeping, much of which can be done without carrying firearms.
A critical tool that can benefit campus police in this scenario is a body-worn camera, such as those created by Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON). On January 25, 2024, Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON) announced the release of Axon Body Workforce, its latest body-worn camera for retail workers and healthcare providers. Early trials of these cameras showcased a 50% decrease in incident escalations, showcasing that they could be utilized for an effective de-escalation strategy, thus also making them valuable for a critical department like university police.
In addition, universities can focus on investing more in other security tools, such as an emergency notification system. Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBG) is a company that provides this system, which can be utilized to inform students and faculty members of critical events. Within the Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBG) mass notification system, information can be sent through as many as 25 paths, including texts, emails, desktop alerts, app notifications, and voice calls. According to Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBG) 6,500 organizations around the globe utilize this system, including DePaul University and the Azusa Pacific University in the United States.
Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI) is another company providing security solutions to universities that go beyond firearms. Their security solutions include video surveillance, emergency preparedness, mass notifications, and intrusion detection. The Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI) emergency communications system has been employed by the Missouri Southern State University for decades. Since 1972, the university has worked closely with SimplexGrinnell, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI), to create a unique emergency communication system suited to its particular needs. Public speaker arrays with powers of 1200-1600 watts have been placed throughout the campus to broadcast essential information whenever required.
These companies prove that universities can ameliorate their security through several tools besides arming police personnel. However, several campuses around the United States still possess a large police department of their own, 20 of which we have compiled for this list. You can also take a look at the Academic Ranking of World Universities: Top 30 and 17 Countries With Best Universities In Europe.
20 Universities with the Largest Police Departments in the US
Our Methodology:
In order to compile this list of the 20 US universities with the largest police departments, we utilized data from the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. We shortlisted 20 colleges and universities that had the highest number of full-time sworn personnel and listed them in ascending order of this metric. Further information for each department has been sourced from its respective website. Based on this methodology, here are the 20 universities with the largest police department in the US.
Note that this list does not include university police departments that did not employ at least one full-time equivalent (FTE) sworn officer. FTE refers to the total number of full-time sworn officers plus half of the part-time ones.
20 Universities with the Largest Police Departments in the US
20. CUNY Hunter College Department of Public Safety
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 77
The CUNY Hunter College is one of the universities with the largest police departments in the US, with 77 full-time sworn personnel on board. Other than general student protection, the office also puts out alerts regarding fake job offers, personal assistant scams, and social media scams.
19. University of Cincinnati Health – Department of Public Safety
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 77
The Department of Public Safety at the University of Cincinnati works in close collaboration with the Cincinnati Police Department. To enhance communication between the university police and the student community, the department offers the Bearcat Guardian Mobile App.
18. Georgia Tech Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 78
Located in the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech PD is one of the largest university police departments in the US. In 2023, the department dealt with 363 cases throughout the year, most of which belonged to the category of theft.
17. University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 78
USC’s Law Enforcement and Safety Division operates the RAVE Guardian Safety App, which students can use to connect with the USCPD in case of an emergency. The website also features a crime map for the students to locate hotspots in the vicinity.
16. Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 78
The VCU Police Department uses several methods to inform students of emergencies. These include desktop notifications, texts, digital signage, the LiveSafe app, outdoor sirens, etc. It is one of the largest university-based police departments in the US.
15. University of Florida Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 79
The police department at the University of Florida offers safety and crime prevention classes to the university community, so they are well-equipped to tackle such situations. Programs include bomb threats, personal safety, property security, and self-defense awareness.
14. University of Pittsburgh Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 81
The University of Pittsburgh Police Department has been training on the ABLE Project since 2021. The program focuses on training officers in methods of peer intervention that do not cause harm. The University of Pittsburgh is one of the universities with the largest police departments in the US.
13. University of Georgia Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 83
The University of Georgia Police Department received almost 700 cases in 2023, 281 of which belonged to the category of theft. The second most reported category was underage possession, which had 180 cases in the year.
12. University of Maryland Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 86
Within the first three months of 2024, the University of Maryland Police Department has dealt with 14 crimes against society (drunk driving and disorderly conduct) and 35 crimes against property (vandalism, theft, and fraud).
11. Arizona State University Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 87
Arizona State University is one of the universities with the largest police departments in the US, employing 87 full-time sworn police personnel. The department has been in service for 75 years.
10. Michigan State University Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 88
In December 2023, MSU introduced an online violence awareness training program for its student community. The university also offers in-person training programs so students can be thoroughly equipped to deal with an actively violent situation until the police arrive.
9. University of Alabama Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 91
The University of Alabama has one of the largest campus police departments in the US, equipped with 91 full-time sworn personnel and a K-9 Unit of its own. In 2022, UAPD reported that it had six dogs: five Labrador Retrievers and one German Shorthaired Pointer.
8. University of Connecticut Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 98
The University of Connecticut PD operates its own LiveSafe app for the university community while also allowing them to submit crime tips through an online portal on the university website.
7. Lone Star College Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 115
Lone Star College PD operates a patrol operations bureau, an investigations unit, a special protection and response team, an honor guard, and a dispatch center. Collectively, these units make up 115 personnel, which is one of the largest campus police department strengths in the US.
6. University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department
Full-Time Sworn Police Personnel: 117
In 2022, the police department at the University of Alabama Birmingham received 35 reports for burglary, 100 reports for motor vehicle theft, and 18 reports for robbery. Burglary reports had decreased as compared to the previous two years, whereas the other two had increased.
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Disclaimer: None. 20 Universities with the Largest Police Department in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey.
