U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST        BJS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1996       202/633-3047

COLLEGE CAMPUSES GUARDED BY NEARLY 11,000 POLICE
           OFFICERS -- MOST ARE ARMED



     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Last year, there were
nearly 11,000 full-time sworn police officers on
the campuses of four-year colleges and
universities with 2,500 or more students,
according to a first-of-its-kind study released
today by the Justice Department's Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS).  In addition, law
enforcement agencies at these colleges and
universities employed almost 10,000 nonsworn
personnel.
     About three-fourths of the campus law
enforcement agencies serving such schools employed
sworn police officers with general arrest powers. 
Ninety-three percent of the public institutions
had sworn officers, compared to 43 percent of the
private ones.  At 81 percent of the public
campuses and 34 percent of the private campuses
police officers are armed.
     There were 64 violent crimes and 2,141
property crimes reported to the police for every
100,000 students enrolled at these schools during
1994, the most recent year for which data 
were collected.  According to FBI statistics, for
the nation as a whole there were 716 violent
crimes and 4,656 property crimes reported during
1994 per 100,000 United States residents.
     The campuses averaged about 7 violent crime
reports during 1994, ranging from 25 on the
largest to 3 on small campuses having fewer than
5,000 students.  The average number of property
crimes reported ranged from 1,000 on the largest
campuses to 71 on the smallest.
     Eighty-five percent operated general crime
prevention programs, while about two-thirds of the
agencies administered date rape prevention
programs, the report noted, and about half
operated alcohol and drug abuse programs.  More
than one-third had a special unit or program for
victim assistance.
     One-third of the agencies conducted campus
fire inspections, 36 percent provided emergency
medical services, 35 percent animal control and 29
percent search and rescue operations.
     Ninety-eight percent of the agencies with
sworn police officers conducted background
investigations and criminal record checks of
applicants to be campus police officers, as did
about 80 percent of the agencies that employed
nonsworn security officers.  About 56 percent of
the schools psychologically screened law
enforcement personnel, including 66 percent of
those using sworn officers and 17 percent of those
using nonsworn officers.  
     A large majority of the colleges and
universities employed their own personnel in their
law enforcement forces.  However, one-quarter used
outside organizations to perform at least some law
enforcement functions.  Only 3 percent used
outside personnel for all law enforcement
operations.
     The average starting salary for chiefs and
directors of campus law enforcement agencies was
$45,100 a year, ranging from $59,000 for the
largest schools to $37,900 for the smallest. 
Almost 40 percent of the agencies with sworn
personnel authorized collective bargaining for
them, ranging from 61 percent for the largest
institutions to 20 percent for the smallest.
     Nationwide campus law enforcement operating
expenditures averaged $109 per student--$181 for
private institutions, compared to $94 for public
institutions.
     The data are from BJS' first survey of campus
law enforcement agencies at public and private
four-year institutions with 2,500 or more
students.  These institutions enrolled about four-
fifths of the almost 9 million students attending
such schools.
     The comprehensive, detailed report, "Campus
Law Enforcement Agencies, 1995" (NCJ-161137),
written by BJS statisticians Brian A. Reaves and
Andrew L. Goldberg, can be obtained on the
Internet at:      

          http://www.ncjrs.org/cle95.htm

     It will also be available to the general
public beginning at 9 a.m. EST, Thursday, December
12, on BJS's Internet home page by clicking on
"What's new at BJS."  The BJS webpage address is:
    
          http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ 

     Additional BJS materials may be obtained from
the BJS fax-on-demand system (301/251-5550) or by
calling the BJS Clearinghouse on 1-800/732-3277.  
                      # # # 

After hours contact:  Stu Smith at 301/983-9354

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