8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS POLICING DECEMBER 26, 2025 What the community thinks of university police MARIE Groundcover contributor This article focuses on the history, evolution and current climate of policing at Michigan’s two oldest Universities, the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. Community members’ voices presented in this article may call Washtenaw County home. This article brings perspectives from as far as the Atlantic coast, the Pacific, Lake Superior, the Caribbean, and citizens of other countries. The people interviewed for this article were all adults, varying in age from freshman in college to late adulthood. Interviews and data collection occurred from Nov. to Dec. 17, 2025. The voices presented here vary in indentity, encompass a variety of university stakeholders, and do not all have the same economic circumstances. To protect anonymity, all community members will be referred to as "Buddy." The early years of local university policing and public safety According to a 2021 written summary available through University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS) records, U-M officially created a public safety and law enforcement unit in 1970. The first university watchman is reported to have been hired in 1898 to “maintain its rules and regulations as well as safeguard its property from damage.” In 1946, the university began subsidizing the City of Ann Arbor police to patrol its parking lots. In 1959 U-M utilized the services of Sanford Security Service to "safeguard the campus.” According to the library summary, U-M established its own safety and law enforcement unit due to problems addressing oversight issues between clashing personnel and student protestors during the late 1960s. DPSS had its first two deputized officers with arresting power beginning in 1988. The following summary of how EMU’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) was established is taken from a paper written in 2010 by Michael E. Marotta, titled “The Early History of the Eastern Michigan University Police Department.” In 1961 an Ypsilanti police officer, John Hayes, was assigned to EMU, where he worked with a nightwatchman. In 1962, Hayes was “tasked with building a police department dedicated to EMU.” In 1967 the “EMU Board of Regents defined the powers of the campus police department and authorized the hiring of more officers.” While EMUPD started with an Ypsilanti Police Department (YPD) officer with the power to arrest, its oversight oscillated between the YPD and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department. What seems to set early EMU DPS apart from U-M DPSS was its use of student officers and its overall approach. Student officers were required to have been attending the university for at least two years. The founding approach of the department included an attitude of “better outcomes for all” and “these are our leaders of tomorrow.” Early leadership was dedicated to serving as mentors, counselors and peacekeepers. Early approaches included parking enforcement and pedestrian safety as well as addressing crime such as larceny, car theft and sexual assault on campus. Student sentencing for minor offenses was intended to instill a better sense of community through support from the 14th District Court and employed on campus. 1990s university policing changes with the passage of Act 120 University policing in Michigan entered a new era in the 90s with the passage of [Michigan] Public Safety Officers Act 120. According to the Michigan Legislature website, Act 120 of 1990 is “An act to empower the governing boards of control of public fouryear institutions of higher education to grant certain powers and authority to their public safety officers; to require those public safety officers to meet certain standards; and to require institutions of higher education to make certain crime reports.” being Act 120 has four sections, the first of which explains officers’ power and authority. Power and authority include enforcing state laws, ordinances and regulations of the institution, and requires a public safety department oversight committee to address complaints against officers or the institution’s public safety department. Section 2 outlines jurisdictional boundaries; section 3 requires minimum employment standards, and section 4 requires monthly crime reporting to the state. UMPD does not have an accessible jurisdiction map; however, the U-M website explains UMPD “patrol all campus buildings and grounds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. UMPD officers have authority to investigate, search, arrest and use reasonable force as necessary to protect persons and property and to enforce the laws of the State of Michigan and the Ordinance of the Regents of the University of Michigan.” U-M Regents have a printable manual called “An Ordinance to Regulate Parking and Traffic and to Regulate the Use and Protection of the Building and Property” which specifies jurisdiction as “all property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Regents of the University of Michigan.” A PDF of EMU’s police jurisdiction map may be obtained via internet search; however, during a visit to EMUPD a Buddy easily explained jurisdiction as the main campus, west campus, Loesell Field Labs, Clark Radio Tower and Eagle Crest. The internet map of jurisdiction essentially connects EMU property, and encompasses buildings where students live off campus. Community feedback on university policing Buddy 1 went to University High School, U-M and EMU, and retired from a safety position in Ann Arbor. “The purpose of university public safety is to have a helpful dedicated force within campus. Schools are their own little worlds, responding to issues specific to campus. Students can be a challenge, may come with an attitude of entitlement or think they know better. They may come from out of town and disrespect property and community. A lot of problems are encountered with underage youth drinking, using drugs and not being responsible under the influence. Problems are increased by the influence they are under. “People prey on the vulnerable. My friend went out with John Norman Collins [the serial killer who preyed on U-M and EMU female students in the late 1960s], but thankfully didn’t have pierced ears. [To quote an article about Collins by Kevin Lamb “Similar to Ted Bundy, most of his victims were young co-eds with long-brown hair and pierced ears.”] Sheriff Harvey didn’t really increase patrols as a result of the Collins killings. In school our math teacher who was also a Wash-tenaw Sheriff's deputy, kept an eye out for us, and also patrolled the school. “In the 60s and 70s people came and hung out all over campus, but they weren’t part of the U. A lot of the disturbances were brought in from the outside, and some people wanted things to get violent. Peaceful protesting people express opinions; however, things can get emotional, which can become volatile. AAPD just couldn’t handle the riots and were overwhelmed so the National Guard came in. “Additional training is needed for dealing with college age and types. People in authority need to be careful who they hire. Do they have a good sense of keeping themselves under control or are they easily pushed to violence? When emotions and tension is high things are very volatile. A police force can easily draw characters trying to prove how macho and tough they are.” Buddy 2 is a current student, with a first UMPD experience of “being concerned about identity theft when trying to register to vote via one of the people on campus offering help to complete the form. They gave me some information about how to address the issue, but not much else. It was resolved when I was able to vote. They see POLICE page 13
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