OSP quits OS presence next year

Well, I think Ed Ray did more than "mouth non-support":

On Friday, Ray went a step further.

"Let me be clear," he said in his statement to the campus community, "this matter is sufficiently troubling that unless its resolution is satisfactory to OSU, we will reassess the value of continuing a campus law enforcement service agreement with Oregon State Police."

Without me taking a stance on the incident itself here, I think OSP was already planning on pulling the plug, so Ray seems to be leveraging a high visibility incident to be visible in the community.........still waiting for some strong statements from Dr. Ray on Anthony Davis' 400-year tree cutting/forestry building cost overrun hobbies however.

Back when they brought osp onto campus one of the reasons (main reason iirc) was government pressure due to having a nuclear reactor on campus.   That hasn't changed and I doubt that the feds have lessened their requirements. It will be on interesting to see how this pans out. 

OSP presence also meant that if you got a traffic ticket on campus, it stuck with you. Always made me extra cautious . But as I recall from way back, one of the reasons for going with OSP was that due to state fiscal issues, their numbers were getting too low and covering OSU enabled them to increase staff. I'd always thought their covering OSU gave the University a much safer, more professional security force than just about any campus I was familiar with.

Totally agree on a "real police force". Do you suppose Corvallis Police are interested in bidding on the contract? 

I really hope this is a bunch of brinkmanship negotiation. This kind of thing can devolve into a Sheriff Taylor & Barney Fife situation. Sounds like the athletic dept has a separate contract for events. I hope this is not affected by the Uni going a different way

NRC regs require a certain response force be available for nukes with a certain core size; OSU met the criteria, the OSP was the only force with the automatic weapons that could shift manpower to allow for required response times. Essentially, in order to make it work, OSU gave OSP space in which to keep a patrol force so that it could meet the force/response time criteria.

Since OSP was on campus, it was natural to contract out the law enforcement - policing and investigation - as it is state property, and the state force has natural jurisdiction. Prior to OSP, it was BCSO, who deputized a number of extra folks who were essentially on the OSU payroll. BCSO had grown tired of the rent-a-cop arrangement, and, not able to maintain enough force for the campus patrols on their own payroll, leapt at the chance to divest their office from the arrangement when the nuke question came up. 

So the nuke was the catalyst, but not the requirement for policing. 

Let's just hope OSU does NOT get into the accredited police force business. Leave the higher ed to the higher educators, and the policing to the police. Make a new contract with CPD or BCSO, and move along folks, there's nothing to see here...

I think the role/job of law enforcement in our society is growing increasingly challenging. I would hope the leader of the flagship PhD granting institution in the state would realize the nuances of the situation and provide a balanced, tempered response as an example of what we need in these times.

While I am appalled at some of the recent incidents that have caused tragic outcomes (for LEOs and non-LEOs alike) around the country, I much appreciate the job the campus officers have done in all the years I have been involved with OSU campus. I highly doubt OSU will be able to procure a more professional outfit with a better track record than the OSP, which makes President Ray's comments a bit.......surprising.

I am also sure far more mediocre solutions are available out there - my undergraduate campus had contracted with some rent-a-cop outfit that no one took seriously, and rather than live in fear of them (or respect them), we lived in fear of what might happen should a *real* situation requiring competent help ever break out......these were the folks that also "patrolled" higher end apartment complexes and malls, and they were armed with a camera with which they could photograph a potential perp to turn over to real law enforcement. They would studiously avoid getting near any situation that appeared might require them to deploy their dreaded camera....

Be careful what you wish for, OSU......

It may not have been clear. My mention of CPD was sarcasm. Any hint of them moving to campus would be a disaster. They are  hired to do the full time residents bidding. Since students don't vote (in Corvallis) they have no clout. Easy enough for CPD to follow the residents bidding. I honestly don't know who could do a better job. So OSP seems to be in a strong negotiating position