Bill Text: NY S00610 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Directs the trustees of the state university to appoint a commissioner of state university police, who shall be the supervisory and administrative head of all university police forces; prohibits any further appointments of police chiefs of campus police forces.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S00610 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S00610-Introduced.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          610
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 5, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced by Sens. KLEIN, STAVISKY, MAZIARZ, SAVINO, STEWART-COUSINS --
         read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
         the Committee on Higher Education
       AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  directing  the  state
         university  trustees  to  appoint  a  commissioner of state university
         police
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds and
    2  declares that maintaining a safe environment for individuals studying on
    3  the campuses of the state university of New York is of  critical  impor-
    4  tance, and that a well trained and well organized campus police force is
    5  vital to ensure that safety. The legislature also finds that the current
    6  structure  of the campus police force at the state university is ineffi-
    7  cient, subject to  an  excessive  and  unpredictable  management  salary
    8  structure, and does not ensure an equal level of security and protection
    9  at  the  many  campuses  across  the state. The intent of this act is to
   10  create a system of police organization  at  the  state  university  that
   11  borrows  the  lessons learned by other successful police forces, such as
   12  the state parks police, and creates a unified and clear  rank  and  file
   13  and  command  structure  that  empowers individuals with law enforcement
   14  experience to make decisions  based  on  good  policing  practices.  The
   15  legislature acknowledges the individual character and physical layout of
   16  each  campus  and finds that it is possible for a central police command
   17  to manage diverse campus needs. The legislature urges the chancellor and
   18  the board of trustees of the state university of New York to take  steps
   19  to  create  a more systematic police rank and file and command structure
   20  at the various campus police forces and to make better use of the inval-
   21  uable experience that campus police officers gain as they  get  to  know
   22  their own individual campus needs.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01838-01-1
       S. 610                              2
    1    S 2. Paragraph l of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education law,
    2  as  amended  by  chapter  424 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    l.  To appoint university police officers who shall have the powers of
    5  police  officers  and  to  remove  such  police  officers  at  pleasure;
    6  provided,  however, that any person appointed a police officer must have
    7  satisfactorily completed or complete within one year of the date of  his
    8  OR  HER appointment a course of law enforcement training approved by the
    9  municipal police training council in consultation with  the  university.
   10  It  shall  be the duty of such police officers to preserve law and order
   11  on the campuses and other property  of  the  university,  including  any
   12  portion  of  a public highway which crosses or abuts such property.  THE
   13  TRUSTEES SHALL APPOINT A COMMISSIONER OF STATE  UNIVERSITY  POLICE  WELL
   14  QUALIFIED  BY  BACKGROUND,  TRAINING  AND EXPERIENCE, WHO SHALL EXERCISE
   15  SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION OF ALL UNIVERSITY POLICE  FORCES  FROM  A
   16  CENTRAL OFFICE.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, THERE SHALL
   17  BE  NO FURTHER APPOINTMENTS TO THE POSITION OF POLICE CHIEF OF A UNIVER-
   18  SITY POLICE FORCE AT ANY COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY.
   19    Subject to the approval of  the  chancellor,  the  president  of  each
   20  state-operated campus of the state university shall enter into a written
   21  agreement with adjoining law enforcement agencies establishing protocols
   22  for the exercise of authority by such university police officer off-cam-
   23  pus,  including  mutual aid and assistance. Such written protocols shall
   24  not be deemed to supersede the authority of other police officers.   The
   25  provisions  of this paragraph shall not apply to any of the state insti-
   26  tutions and property referred to in section five thousand seven  hundred
   27  nine of this chapter.
   28    S  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
   29  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.