--- title: "Campus Police Groups Work to Address Racial Profiling Issues" id: "26715" type: "post" slug: "campus-police-groups-work-to-address-racial-profiling-issues" published_at: "2015-01-08T01:35:16+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T17:52:40+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/01/08/campus-police-groups-work-to-address-racial-profiling-issues/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/01/08/campus-police-groups-work-to-address-racial-profiling-issues.md" excerpt: "As College campuses nationwide become hotbeds of protests against racial profiling—particularly in the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police—on-campus groups have worked to show that they’re taking the issue seriously." taxonomy_category: - "Conscious Inclusion" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "bias" - "campus police" - "Leadership" - "racial profiling" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Campus Police Groups Work to Address Racial Profiling Issues With the attention focused on killings of unarmed black men by police, U.S. colleges and universities have become major sites for protests. As a result, questions of racial profiling resonate especially acutely in the academic world. And often, campus police departments find themselves in the middle, keeping watch over the protests, even as they represent a version of what the protests are about. In recent weeks, demonstrations have occurred at [Ohio State University (opens in a new tab)](http://thelantern.com/2014/12/about-200-people-rally-on-ohio-states-campus-to-protest-ferguson-decision-police-brutality/) , the [University of California-Berkeley (opens in a new tab)](http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_27110772/berkeley-high-school-students-continue-police-protests) , [Brigham Young University (opens in a new tab)](http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/byu-students-hold-i-can-t-breathe-protest-on-campus/article_6fe0e97e-3ad3-52a3-a64c-21a0393da260.html) , and [Dartmouth College (opens in a new tab)](http://thedartmouth.com/2015/01/06/community-protests-policy-brutality/) , drawing professors as well as students. “The old adage is true—when you’ve got a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” Dartmouth professor Alexis Jetter, who spoke at a protest at the college, [told the student newspaper (opens in a new tab)](http://thedartmouth.com/2015/01/06/community-protests-policy-brutality/) . “We need to return to the idea that police officers are there to restore the peace and protect people, sometimes from themselves.” The protests have at times placed campus police associations at odds with their school’s administrators. Last month, Eric Rohrback, president of the Penn Police Association/University of Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #113, [publicly criticized (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thedp.com/article/2014/12/penn-police-respond-to-gutmann-die-in) university President Amy Gutmann for taking part in a “die-in” protest. “To have her participate in such a disrespectful act is not, in any way, ‘support,’ and proves that she does not have the backs of ‘her’ officers,” Rohrback wrote in a guest column in [The Daily Pennsylvanian (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thedp.com/article/2014/12/fop-letter-die-in) . “It is a slap in the face to every person that wears this uniform and serves this university.” ### Taking a Proactive Stance One group for campus police departments, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), has worked to boost awareness around bias issues. In 2012, it rolled out a voluntary accreditation program for member schools that requires accredited institutions to have written directives preventing officers from relying on “bias-based enforcement activity”—using race, gender, ethnicity, or other similar issues as a factor in enforcement. “An important component of successful campus public safety is an agency’s ability to provide an equal and professional delivery of services to a wide spectrum of people on campus,” [the accreditation document states (opens in a new tab)](http://iaclea.org/visitors/PDFs/IAStandardsManual.pdf) [PDF]. “Disparate treatment, whether through traditional law enforcement activities or the enforcement of institutional rules and regulations, must be addressed by the agency’s management.” [A Chronicle of Higher Education report (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/us/tasked-to-protect-all-on-campus-but-accused-of-racial-bias.html?_r=0) noted that while only a handful of schools have gained accreditation—18 through IACLEA’s voluntary program and another 23 through a joint effort with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies—the programs reflect an effort by campus police agencies to stay in front of bias-related issues, as race and other similar debates tend to come up more often in academic environments. In a similar vein, IACLEA recently launched a webinar program preparing police to wear [body cameras](http://associationsnow.com/2014/12/police-group-offers-body-worn-camera-policy-recommendations/) , which advocates see as a way to keep officers honest. Furman University Chief of Police Tom Saccenti, who helped put together the program, said that such devices have a positive effect on both officers and the people they come in contact with. “It is accountability for both sides,” Saccenti told the *Chronicle*. “The officer knows he is being recorded, but you can clearly see that there is a camera on the police officer. We have seen a change in behavior in a lot of people who we talk to because they know they are on a recording.” (Hemera/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#bias](https://associationsnow.com/tag/bias/) [#campus police](https://associationsnow.com/tag/campus-police/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#racial profiling](https://associationsnow.com/tag/racial-profiling/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoASAE DELP Reunion 2025 & Introduction of New ClassAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/asae-delp-reunion-2025-introduction-of-new-class-2/) - [VideoLeading the Way in Neuroinclusion with ASAE Research Foundation and MPIDecember 16, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/16/leading-the-way-in-neuroinclusion-with-asae-research-foundation-and-mpi/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond Accessibility: Building Neuroinclusive Association CommunitiesMay 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/05/28/associations-now-presents-beyond-accessibility-building-neuroinclusive-association-communities/) - [VideoWhy Neuroinclusion Matters: Raising Awareness Across the Association CommunityDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/why-neuroinclusion-matters-raising-awareness-across-the-association-community/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F01%2F08%2Fcampus-police-groups-work-to-address-racial-profiling-issues%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !