Lawsuit against Brown University sparks debate on campus police secrecy at private colleges

"Unlike public campuses, private higher education institutions are largely exempt from disclosing arrest records, incident reports and other documents even as they employ officers who have the authority to detain students, as well as, in some cases, use force. This lack of transparency has long raised objections from watchdog groups and open government advocates who say such records are critical to holding law enforcement accountable."

""These private university police officers have the same arrest powers, detention powers, and other powers that any other police officer has in the state working for a city or town," said Steven Brown, Rhode Island's ACLU executive director. "We think that in light of that fact, they should be treated the same as public police officers." So far Brown has declined to comment on the lawsuit, but their attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the suit."

Private university police departments often possess arrest, detention and use-of-force powers comparable to public police while remaining largely exempt from state public records laws. This exemption limits disclosure of arrest records, incident reports and other documents, prompting concerns from watchdogs and open-government advocates about reduced accountability. The ACLU of Rhode Island filed a legal challenge seeking to require Brown University's police department to comply with the state's public records law. A number of states already subject private campus police to public-records rules, but most states exempt them and court challenges seldom expand access.

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