Senate Bill No. 149
(By Senator Wooton)
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[Introduced February 16, 2001; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article four, chapter eighteen-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
five-c, relating to private campus police officers at private
institutions of higher education in this state; and providing
for appointment, qualifications, authority and removal.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article four, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-c,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
§18B-4-5c. Private campus police officers; appointment;
qualifications; authority; compensation and
removal.
Private institutions of higher education in this state are
hereby authorized to appoint bona fide residents of this state to
act as private campus police officers upon any premises owned or
leased by the private institution of higher education, subject to
the conditions and restrictions hereinafter imposed. Before
performing duties as a private campus police officer in any county,
each person so appointed must first qualify therefor in the same
manner as is required of county police officers by the taking and
filing of an oath of office as required by article one, chapter six
of this code and by posting an official bond as required by article
two, chapter six of this code. A private campus police officer for
a private institution of higher education in this state may carry
a gun and may carry any other dangerous weapon while on duty if the
private campus police officer fulfills the certification
requirement for law-enforcement officers under section five,
article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
It is the duty of any person so appointed and qualified as a
private campus police officer for a private institution of higher
education in this state to preserve law and order only upon those
premises under the jurisdiction of the private institution of
higher education and on any other street, road or thoroughfare,
except controlled access and open country highways, immediately
adjacent to or passing through the premises, to which the person
may be assigned by the president or other administrative head of
the private state institution of higher education. For this purpose the private campus police officer is a law-enforcement
officer pursuant to the provisions of section one, article
twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code and, as to offenses
committed within any area so assigned, has and may exercise all the
powers and authority and is subject to all the requirements and
responsibilities of a law-enforcement officer: Provided, That the
assignment of private campus police officers for a private
institution of higher education in this state to the duties
authorized by this section may not be considered to supersede in
any way the authority or duty of other peace officers to preserve
law and order on the premises. In addition, the private campus
police officers appointed under provisions of this section may
assist local peace officers on public highways in the control of
traffic in and around premises owned by the state of West Virginia
whenever the traffic is generated as a result of athletic or other
activities conducted or sponsored by a private institution of
higher education and when the assistance has been requested by the
local peace officers.
The salary of all private campus police officers shall be paid
by the appropriate administrative authority of the private
institution of higher education in this state. Each private
institution may furnish each private campus police officer with a
firearm and an official uniform to be worn while on duty and shall
furnish and require each officer while on duty to wear a shield with an appropriate inscription and to carry credentials certifying
to the person's identity and authority as a private campus police
officer.
The administrators for private institutions of higher
education in this state may at their pleasure revoke the authority
of any private campus police officer. The president or other
administrative head of the private institution of higher education
shall report the termination of employment of a private campus
police officer by filing a notice to that effect in the office of
the clerk of each county in which the private campus police
officer's oath of office was filed.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize private campus
police officers at private institutions of higher education in this
state.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.