Bauer legislation to hold private university police departments accountable advances

INDIANAPOLIS — Legislation authored by State Rep. B. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) to ensure that private university police departments are transparent about campus crimes has been approved unanimously by House members.

House Bill 1022, authored by Bauer, would require that private university police departments act transparently in regards to arrests and incarcerations that are made on campus.

“I am so pleased to see this legislation move forward,” commented Bauer. “This is an important issue that requires our attention. By passing this legislation, we are taking a step towards ensuring that individuals who are arrested or incarcerated on college campuses are held accountable for their decisions.”

Currently, private university police departments are not subject to Indiana’s public records law, allowing them to withhold the names of students involved in criminal activity.

Bauer’s legislation clarifies that information about criminal activity is available to the campus community.

The legislation also requires that the name of a crime victim, in records that are released by a private university police department, be redacted unless the release is authorized by the victim.

The bill would ensure that educational institutions, along with its offices and employees, have the same common law and statutory immunities that are granted to the state. It would also extend the common law and statutory immunities that are granted to state police officers to include law enforcement individuals employed by the university.

“This bill will ensure that private university police departments act with the same level of transparency as city, county and state police agencies in Indiana,” said Bauer. “This is a commonsense piece of legislation that would help increase the level of safety and awareness on private university campuses.”