University Police

[citcop]

Oh man, I thought that pic got banned :D

Kels hit the nail on the head with his post. I work at a college myself, and it's not a bad gig. Things do tend to get a little boring if you let. Different university policies are going to determine what you can do adn where you can go. I am fortunate to be with a department that gives officer's complete discretion on enforcement action, on and off campus. It is nice to have a choice, if you want a slower night, so be it; if you want some excitement, go find it (the satewide jurisdiction comes in handy). The majority of problems roll in from off campus and the majority of my arrests have been off campus. You just need to decide on what you are looking for in a law enforcement agency. I would also inquire about the relationship between the campus agency your looking at and the other local PD's as well.

[CTUCop]

Pretty much what has been said already. Most of the crime we get at my place is misdemeanor crimes. We handle a lot of it in a pretty low-key fashion.

Our biggest perk is that we're state employees- great benefits, good retirement, decent pay.

[Apollo8138]

Cons
Depending on who is running the dept, the politics can suck.
Get ready to do a lot of alcohol violations.
Get ready to do a lot of theft reports.
Any day with a major sport event SUCKS.
Your agency will be the last in line for funding.

Pros
Nice work enviroment.
Somewhat better class of criminal. Drunk college kids are not the smartest
rocks in the box. When I did this, most of the serious crime came in from off
campus.
Summers off, most of the students and some of the staff will be gone.
A month vacation around Christmas. (see summers)

Lots of funny stuff
9 people in a VW Rabbit. (someone has to walk)
People having sex in the presidents yard. (even brought their own fireworks
celebrate afterwards)
Lots of naked people. Good drugs do that to ya:D
People dancing on the roofs of houses at parties.
Hedge balls dipped in gas and lit on fire look cool when thrown off the roof of dorms.
(it is great fun until the PISSED fire marshal gets there.)
ETC

Be prepared to be a public service organization who arrests people on a part time basis.:D

I work for a private university and it's pretty much the way kels summarized it. We have jurisdiction all over the city where the university is located (not just inside the campus). I also get to go to school for free. We are certified LEO's, so if the environment gets boring after a while you can always lateral to another department.

[squadcar]

Sweet, we have University Police up here too.

Would it be better to apply to this before or after University? Would they accept someone who hasn't even attended a college/university before? I'd love to get get LE experience AND go through university with my tuition paid for.

[kels]

Tell I havnt worked there in a while.

I forgot about the fighting over who got to do what.
We were surrounded by a city.
We were not allowed over the street that surrounded the campus.
UNLESS THEY WERE SHORT HANDED AND HAD A CALL AT THE FRAT HOUSE.

Actually evenings and night shifts got along ok, days shift wouldnt even talk to each other. LOUD Party calls were always fun.

Of course, it didnt help that we got paid better in those days.
It has now changed and the city get paid a lot better.

[JD45]

And here's the one I like the best...
"streets adjacent to the campus and within the one mile concurrent jurisdiction should the violation warrant enforcement action"

SWEET! SJSU is located right in the middle of downtown San Jose. All of the bar and nightclubs are within that mile. Not to mention alot of the slummy student housing and just plain gross housing around that area too.

I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but if you think that department will let you go out patrol and make arrests in those areas.....well...I got a nice piece of a famous bridge to sell you.

One of my best friends worked for SFSU before making the change and now works at the same dept as me.

Just because it says on paper that, that's your jurisdiction doesn't mean that your supervisor won't tell you to keep your a** on campus.

At least that's the way it was at SFSU.

Kels nailed it perfectly. Be prepared for a TOOOOON of politics.

[Kimble]

Sweet, we have University Police up here too.

Would it be better to apply to this before or after University? Would they accept someone who hasn't even attended a college/university before? I'd love to get get LE experience AND go through university with my tuition paid for.

The university departments around here require a HS diploma or GED. College education is seen as a plus, but not a prerequisite. However, all that I've seen require you to be 21 yoa, and few brand-new freshman are that old yet.

[squadcar]

The university departments around here require a HS diploma or GED. College education is seen as a plus, but not a prerequisite. However, all that I've seen require you to be 21 yoa, and few brand-new freshman are that old yet.

Up here, you have to be at least 18, for most university departments,which is the age I'll be after graduating HS.