Nov. 22--Ohio State University's police officers can make arrests miles from campus in Bexley, where the university president lives. But when they cross N. High Street from campus into the off-campus area where most students live, they lose that power.
Their authority in Bexley stems from an agreement the department has long held with the city, along with a few other suburbs where officers occasionally travel. But they have never reached a deal to make arrests or investigate crimes within the city of Columbus, which is home to most students who live off-campus.
University officials will discuss trying to change that on Tuesday, when a committee called for by OSU President E. Gordon Gee meets for the first time in response to a series of robberies near campus.
"It allows us university police to be more proactive," Ohio State police Chief Paul Denton said of such an arrangement with Columbus. "I would support the concept and look forward to seeing how that evolves."
Currently, Columbus police alone respond to calls and make arrests within Columbus city limits near campus.
Students have urged city and university officials to give Ohio State police broader authority there, said Nick Messenger, president of Undergraduate Student Government.
But their request was largely ignored until dozens of robberies near campus recently put the spotlight on off-campus crime, he said.
On Tuesday, Messenger and leaders of other student governments will present a petition to university officials, demanding to expand the jurisdiction of university police. It also asks Ohio State to provide more shuttles to transport students home at night, and to improve lighting in some of the neighborhoods.
"Our officers already drive around," Messenger said. "It's just giving them the power to actually act."
The deal would require approval from the university and from the city's Department of Public Safety, Denton said.
Contacted tonight, Columbus Safety Director Mitchell J. Brown said he has not recently discussed such an agreement with Ohio State officials. If Ohio State does make a request to the city, the Fraternal Order of Police would have to sign off on it, Brown said.
The city currently is in negotiations with the police union on a new contract, Brown said, but an agreement with OSU is not part of the negotiations.
If Ohio State does make a request, he said, "We'll try to work with them to make sure this is handled appropriately for the benefit of our residents and their students."
Denton said that Columbus and Ohio State officers have teamed on a few ventures, including working together off-campus during football season, and riding in a cruiser that carries an officer from each department.
Typically, deals between cities and university police are common.
Police at the University of Cincinnati gained the right to make arrests off-campus in the early 1990s, said Karen Patterson, a former assistant chief at the university.
Before, officers who came across a fight near campus would have to call city police to make an arrest, she said.
"We've actually morphed it into, if I see a fight, I stop and can actually make the arrest," said Patterson, who is a research coordinator for the university's police.
Officers at Cleveland State University have a similar arrangement with Cleveland.
Gee wrote to students last week that the committee, which includes both university officials and students, should make a recommendation this week.
As officials tackle how to respond to crime, robberies near Ohio State University have continued. Two people reported that they were robbed at gunpoint by a pair of men early Sunday on Iuka Avenue, east of campus.
Columbus police, however, say that the number of robberies -- more than 45 since October -- is typical for the area.
Dispatch reporter Doug Caruso contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
