Campus Public Safety versus Portland Police Bureau

Recent discussions surrounding proposed changes to the Campus Public Safety Office have brought to light differences between the laws that govern CPSO and the laws that govern the Portland Police Bureau—many of which limit CPSO’s capabilities.

What are these laws, and how do they differ from one agency to the next?

CPSO Chief Phil Zerzan said there are a lot of gray areas in the laws, which they’ve had to clarify with the attorney general.

“The current status and authority creates gray areas of operations and significant gaps in the service delivery required in modern campus policing,” he said.

PSU’s current firearm policy forbids anyone on university property from carrying a gun, regardless of whether that individual holds a concealed weapon license. There are, however, “several exceptions to the firearms prohibition, including for on-duty law enforcement officers and public safety personnel and military program participants.”

According to Zerzan, CPSO officers are unable to carry firearms in addition to other restrictions. They cannot issue a citation for violations, apply for a search warrant, make an arrest for a crime that a suspect could escape from or resist, perform community caretaking such as detaining a subject with mental health issues for the person’s safety and the safety of others, or detaining a severely intoxicated subject for an involuntary detox. They are also unable to attend the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (the police academy) for training and certification with DPSST.

These are all things PPB officers are authorized to do as sworn police officers.

In comparison, job duties a CPSO officer can perform that a PPB officer cannot include integrating their response with campus resources at PSU (like the Women’s Resource Center and the Center for Student Health and Counseling), and sharing important information about the crime with the university, Zerzan said.

CPSO officers and PPB officers are both able to arrest for an observed crime, arrest with a warrant and use reasonable force to detain a subject, but CPSO officers are only able to arrest with probable cause and detain subjects on reasonable suspicion if the property on which the event is occurring is owned and controlled by PSU.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, more commonly known as the Clery Act, is another factor that plays an important role in the way CPSO operates, according to CPSO Clery Coordinator Charrie Kafouros.

“The Clery Act is [in place] to allow the university to let parents and students know what’s going on [at PSU]—not just crimes, but policies and procedures as well. We just want to educate students and make sure that they’re safe and know their rights,” she said.

The Clery Act includes reports of crime from PPB and CPSO, and referrals of discipline from the Office of the Dean of Student Life, and is submitted to the federal Department of Education so that the university is eligible to receive federal funding, including federal financial aid.

CPSO’s website states that the Clery Act “requires that post-secondary schools, participating in Title IV student financial aid programs, publish a statistical report of crimes occurring on or near the institution’s campus, and provide information about security policies, procedures and programs.”

The Clery Act came into effect after the brutal rape and murder of 19-year-old Jeanne Clery in her dorm room at Lehigh University in 1986. The nonprofit organization supporting the Clery Act was founded by Clery’s parents, Connie and Howard Clery. More information on this organization can be found at
securityoncampus.org.

PSU’s Clery Report is published annually and can be found on CPSO’s website at pdx.edu/cpso/clery-act.

CPSO operates under Oregon Revised Statute 352.385, while PPB’s fully sworn officers operate under ORS 133.005. These statutes are available at leg.state.or.us/ors.