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Enforcement Authority of Campus Personnel

Texas Education Code

§ 51.203. Campus Peace Officers

a. The governing boards of each state institution of higher education and public technical institute may employ and commission peace officers for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this subchapter. The primary jurisdiction of a peace officer commissioned under this section includes all counties in which property is owned, leased, rented, or otherwise under the control of the institution of higher education or public technical institute that employs the peace officer.

b. Within a peace officer's primary jurisdiction, a peace officer commissioned under this section:

1. is vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers;
2. may, in accordance with Chapter 14, Code of Criminal Procedure, arrest without a warrant any person who violates a law of the state; and
3. may enforce all traffic laws on streets and highways.

c. Outside a peace officer's primary jurisdiction a peace officer commissioned under this section is vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers and may arrest any person who violates any law of the state if the peace officer:

1. is summoned by another law enforcement agency to provide assistance;
2. is assisting another law enforcement agency; or
3. is otherwise performing his duties as a peace officer for the institution of higher education or public technical institute that employs the peace officer.

d. Any officer assigned to duty and commissioned shall take and file the oath required of peace officers, and shall execute and file a good and sufficient bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the governor and his successors in office, with two or more good and sufficient sureties, conditioned that he will fairly, impartially, and faithfully perform all the duties that may be required of him by law. The bond may be sued on from time to time in the name of any person injured until the whole amount of the bond is recovered.

e. Any person commissioned under this Act must be a certified police officer under the requirements of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers and Standards


Texas Tech Police Department Operations & Procedure Manual

FAOP No. 100-10
Jurisdiction/Patrol Response Area

  1. OBJECTIVE:        To establish jurisdictional limitations for patrol and investigative duties.
  1. POLICY:                 It is the policy of the Texas Tech Police Department that police officers confine their duties to activities within the boundaries of property owned, leased or otherwise under the control of the Texas Tech University System to guarantee the highest level of security to said property.

 

III.        PROCEDURE:

All officers commissioned by the governing board of any state institution of higher education, public junior college, or the Texas State Technical Institute are considered to be peace officers.  (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 2.12
(8) in accordance with §37.081, Education Code or Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Education Code.)

A.        As defined by §2.13, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the duties and powers of a peace officer are as follows:

  1. It is the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within the officer’s jurisdiction.  To effect this purpose, the officer will use all lawful means.

 

  1. The officer will:
    1. in every case authorized by the Code of Criminal Procedure, interfere without warrant to prevent or suppress crime;
    2. execute all lawful process issued to the officer by any magistrate or court;
    3. give notice to some magistrate of all offenses committed within the officer’s jurisdiction, where the officer has good reason to believe there has been a violation of the penal law; and
    4. arrest offenders without warrant in every case where the officer is authorized by law, in order that they may be taken before the proper magistrate or court and be tried.

 

  1. It is the duty of every officer to take possession of a child under Article 63.0009(g), Code of Criminal Procedure.

IV.       TEXAS TECH POLICE DEPARTMENT JURISDICTION:

    1. The Texas Tech Police Department is responsible to patrol and ensure law enforcement response to calls on campus and other property owned by the Texas Tech University System.

 

    1. Communications personnel will dispatch officers in response to calls for service within the University  and Health Sciences Center area.
    1. The primary jurisdiction of the Department is defined as all property owned, leased, rented or otherwise under the control of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System.

 

    1. When sending officers to Texas Tech property that would be considered off-campus locations (e.g., not within the contiguous area of the TTU/TTUHSC main campuses), Communications personnel will automatically call the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for that location and request assistance.  When sending an officer to an off-campus location within the city of Lubbock, contact Lubbock Police Department and advise them that a Tech officer has already been dispatched.

V.        RESPONDING TO AN OFF-CAMPUS CALL – WITHIN THE CITY OF LUBBOCK:

A.        Officers responding to an off-campus scene will make a determination if one of the three actions listed below will be taken:

    1. Advise the parties involved that the agency with primary jurisdiction has been called, and then leave the scene.  This action is appropriate when no crime has occurred and there is no threat to life or serious bodily injury.

 

    1. Hold the scene until a unit from the department with primary jurisdiction has arrived.
    1. If a crime has occurred and the offenders have been apprehended by Tech officers and a unit from the agency with primary jurisdiction does not arrive or asks the Tech officer to take action; arrest, book and file charges on the offender(s).

 

VI.       REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE:

  1. When outside police agencies specifically requests our assistance within the general area of the TTU/TTUHSC campuses, officers will be dispatched accordingly.  If radio traffic is overheard on the police scanner that another police agency’s officers need assistance in the area adjacent to the TTU/TTUHSC campuses, the communications personnel will call that agency and ascertain if they need our assistance.  If so, Tech officers will be dispatched.  If not, NO officer will be dispatched. 

 

  1. NO officer will be dispatched off-campus if there are insufficient officers to cover all beats in their absence.  At least four officers must remain on campus at all times.  Exception, in a crisis situation, two officers must remain on campus with the approval of the shift supervisor.
  1. As a general rule the agency requesting our support must do so prior to our providing assistance, unless it is obvious that Tech police assistance is necessary to protect the primary agency’s officer(s) or citizens.

 

  1. Assistance to local agencies may be rendered in handling major traffic accidents or major incidents that occur on roadways or areas adjacent to the campus.
  1. Assistance may be rendered in criminal activity (including DWI) on roadways contiguous to university property.  However, patrolling contiguous roadways is restricted to conducting perimeter checks and not solely for detecting criminal activity off campus.

 

  1. Investigators may leave the primary jurisdiction to conduct latent investigations of offenses which occur on campus with the approval of the Chief or his designee on a case by case basis.
When arrests are anticipated, or warrants are to be served outside the Texas Tech primary jurisdiction, and time and circumstances permit, the police agency having primary jurisdiction will be notified and assistance may be requested.