When stopping a man on campus for a suspected bike theft, a University of Oregon police officer’s search turned up with a stolen bike, multiple stolen parts, marijuana and heroin. Despite his multiple offenses, the man was simply cited and released. No Eugene police officers could respond to the call at the time to book the suspect and transport him to jail. And because UO officers were unarmed at the time, they did not have the authority to do so themselves.
That was fall 2012, but this year UOPD will not have to face the same situation. With a new school year comes new jurisdiction for the department. Since the Oregon State Board of Higher Education approved UO officers carrying guns on campus this June, the department’s 10 police officers are now allowed to carry Glock 21 handguns when they patrol campus and beyond.
“(Now) if a bike thief takes a bike, we’ll be able to do something more than just observe,” said Sgt. Michael Matchulat, who made the transition from public safety officer to a police officer in March 2012 after serving for two years in the former job.
With armed police officers on duty, UOPD will now have staff to perform duties such as traffic stops, transports to jail, responses to potentially dangerous subjects and the ability to follow an investigation off campus. According to UOPD Communications Director Kelly McIver, the ability to practice these duties will help deter criminals from coming on campus to commit crimes.
Seven of the 10 armed police officers regularly patrol campus, along with the department’s team of 13 public safety officers. The other three officers mainly serve in supervisory positions, including UOPD Chief Carolyn McDermot.
The transition to an armed force is not yet complete and won’t be for another five to six years when public safety officers are completely replaced by a 25-person police force. Currently, the department is working to hire more officers, but the process will take time as police have to go through extensive background checks before being hired and put through an eight month training program.
McIver said the transition to an armed police force won’t significantly change the way UOPD operates in the near future, as the department is in a transitional phase. UOPD and the Eugene Police Department are in the process of negotiating interagency jurisdiction and public safety officers will continue to perform the majority of duties on campus.
“A lot of people have the misimpression that the police are policing the members on campus. And often that’s not true — what you’re dealing with is people from off campus who want to come on campus and engage in illegal behavior,” McIver said. “We’re hoping with more of a police presence we can actually transport people to jail and that will help create a deterrent for that.”
Some students are wary of having armed police officers on campus. When UOPD met with the ASUO about the proposal in February, many students were vehemently opposed. Since then, the opposition has been less vocal, but ASUO Senator Helena Schlegel still believes arming officers is unnecessary.
“For me, personally, the idea of a gun in a school setting is uncomfortable,” Schlegel said. “I understand the UOPD has had training, but I feel like it could get out of hand.”
Schlegel worries that the additional cost of arming campus officers will affect students. Once the transition from public safety officers to police officers is complete in five to six years, it is estimated to cost the UO an extra $100,000 per year, including the cost of the higher pay for officers, range training time, sidearms and ammunition.
McIver said that the extra costs are not expected to create an increase in fees or tuition for UO students.
“In light of the department budget and university general fund, these cost differences are extremely minor and are not anything that would come close to generating an increase in fees or tuition for UO students,” McIver said.
It’s not unusual for a campus of UO’s size to have armed officers. Before the state board’s approval to arm UOPD, the UO stood with Portland State University as the only two schools in the nation with more than 15,000 students lacking an armed police force, as well as the only Association of American Universities member without an armed force.
According to Matchulat, despite the changes to his job, his first priority is still to protect the UO campus. As an armed police officer, Matchulat said he can focus on investigating and preventing crimes instead of worrying about where his jurisdiction lies.
“My job hasn’t changed in my own head,” Matchulat said. “I think the stress has gone down with having to think of so many jurisdictions.”