Board of Trustees authorizes hiring of campus police force

On Thursday, Portland State’s governing body, the Board of Trustees, approved a resolution to introduce a sworn police force into the PSU campus. Until now, PSU has relied on an unarmed campus public safety office.

Following lengthy discussion between Board members and multiple proposed and rejected amendments and revisions, the Board voted to approve the updated resolution in an 11–2 vote. Board members Maude Hines and Swati Adarkar opposed the plan.

The resolution approves the creation and hiring of a sworn police force, but the university will not arm and deploy its new police officers until a later Board meeting approves a submitted safety plan in June. A committee comprised of students, staff, faculty and administration will outline a safety plan and implement guidelines for the new force and present it to the Board for final approval.

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