Combining Iowa State Patrol with University Police Will Save Money, Possibly Lives

In April 2007 a gunmen killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University. This tragic event forced universities, law enforcement agencies, local government and the public to consider how best to manage the community response in a time of crisis. A lack of planning and coordination between law enforcement units and public entities make for a loss of time and effectiveness during an emergency. First responders need to work together.

Unfortunately, the Iowa Board of Regents focused on only part of the problem and spent much time debating whether campus security at Iowa’s three universities should carry guns. In a vote of 5 to 2, the Regents passed a measure in late October 2007 to allow campus police to carry guns. While it was true that without weapons campus police generally had to wait for other law enforcement entities to respond before intervening in certain situations, the Regents and the State of Iowa failed to tackle the larger problem, the wisdom of having multiple agencies overseeing public safety in Iowa.

Today, the state budget crisis has reduced the ranks of the Iowa State Patrol to a level not seen in over 46 years. Perhaps this crisis will awaken the General Assembly, the Governor, the Board of Regents and the rest of us to take an action long overdue. Combining oversight, training and coordination of the three currently independent university police forces with the State Patrol will save money, add to the police presence in Iowa and vastly improve the response time when a crisis occurs.

I wrote to the Regents, Governor Culver and legislators in September 2007 urging them to look past arming university public safety officers and to consider the larger issue of coordinating, combining and strengthening Iowa’s overlapping police agencies. I wrote then, “Under a single police agency, safety for our university communities would improve because communication, training and coordination would improve. Problems and successes on one campus would be shared immediately throughout the system. There would be additional significant safety and financial efficiencies to be gained by combining university security and state police activities. When university populations decline during the summer and winter holidays, the State Patrol could reallocate its resources to ensure Iowa’s safety and security is preserved. When a single university hosts a large event or faces a significant threat, resources could be shifted accordingly. In short, Iowa would be better served by one force instead of a State Patrol and three university public safety units.”

Combining the three university police forces and putting them under the command of the State Patrol would save money, increase the number of officers protecting Iowa’s highways and public universities, and would improve critical response times. It does not make sense to continue to equip, maintain and administer three separate security bureaucracies at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. Putting them under the umbrella of the Iowa State Patrol would create a stronger, more efficient and better equipped force on the road and on our campuses.

Under a single police agency, safety for our university communities would improve because communication, training and coordination would improve. Problems and successes on one campus would be shared immediately throughout the system. There would be additional significant safety and financial efficiencies to be gained by combining university security and state police activities. When university populations decline during the summer and winter holidays, the State Patrol could reallocate its resources to ensure Iowa’s safety and security is preserved. When a single university hosts a large event or faces a significant threat, resources could be shifted accordingly.

The General Assembly, Governor and the Board of Regents should seize this moment to strengthen university security, better manage state resources and improve police protection throughout Iowa. These pressing economic times call for us to rethink policing on a broad scale. If action is taken during the 2010 Session, tax dollars will be put to the best use, but, even more important, Iowans will have a more effective police force. Creating a single, strong and well prepared state police force to oversee Iowa’s highways and universities is in the best interest of the state universities and the state as a whole.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.