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The Institute and CUA's Department of Public Safety

A.   General Introduction

The Pontifical John Paul II Institute seeks the safety and security of personnel and property of faculty, staff, and students involved in Institute activities.  To achieve this security, the Institute naturally relies on the Institute staff during business and class hours, but also it largely and primarily depends on the services, reporting and information that comes from the CUA Department of Public Safety (DPS).  This policy guide, in describing how the Institute handles crime procedures, necessarily draws from the CUA DPS's policies and reports, as there is a cooperative arrangement with the Catholic University of America and the Institute, which is housed in CUA's McGivney Hall.

McGivney Hall is located at a central position of the CUA campus and throughout the weekdays both Institute and CUA students attend classes and events in the building.  Being so situated, the Institute is able to take advantage of the 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week, service-oriented operation of the CUA Department of Public Safety, whose director develops safety and security policies designed with the safety of the entire CUA campus in mind.  All safety and security procedures must be consistent with local District of Columbia laws and regulations.

B.   About the CUA Campus Police Authority, Jurisdiction, and Training

 The CUA Department of Public Safety employs a staff of commissioned special police officers who are appointed by the Chief of Police of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). These officers are subject to the rules promulgated for the Metropolitan Police Department insofar as those rules are applicable. These campus police officers are empowered to make arrests on the premises they are assigned to protect or outside of the premises in fresh pursuit for offenses committed on the premises. For any offense committed in their presence, they may arrest based on probable cause. However, if the offense was not committed in the officer's presence, the arrest may only be made on probable cause if the offense is a felony or one of the probable cause misdemeanors enumerated in the D.C. Official Code. Persons so arrested are taken to a facility of the Metropolitan Police Department for processing.

Campus police officers work closely with local law enforcement agencies (see Section D. below) and make every reasonable effort to follow up on crimes referred to them. Less serious incidents and violations of university regulations are investigated by the campus police and referred to Institute or CUA campus administrators as necessary. Any student or employee is free to report any matter directly to the appropriate local police authority and is provided instructions on how to do so.

The MPD staffs a Security Officers Management Branch to facilitate the issuance of special police officer commissions and to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Campus officers must complete the Campus Law Enforcement Academy (250 hours), have completed an equivalent law enforcement academy in the past, or must complete such within two years of receiving a campus commission.

C.   CUA's DPS Units and Functions

The CUA DPS comprises several interrelated functions: the patrol section, which consists of vehicle, bicycle and foot patrol, and the police Communications Center, which handles all radio communications and calls for service. The center monitors cameras, alarm systems, and emergency telephone systems.

In Brief:

  • The CUA Communication Center handles taking calls and dispatching officers; it monitors the Closed-Circuit Television cameras, the alarm systems, and the emergency telephone systems. It also serves as a secondary CUA campus information center.
  • The Patrol Section-vehicle, bicycle and foot patrols.
  • The Investigation and Crime Prevention Unit handles all investigative and crime prevention activities for the campus, which includes McGivney Hall.
  • CUA's Transportation Management and Identification Office provides traffic and parking management as well as identification and fingerprinting services.
  • The campus Locksmith Unit is a part of the Department of Public Safety. They respond to all campus requests for locksmith services.

1.    The Communications Center - 120 Leahy Hall

The Institute relies greatly on the very helpful and consistent service provided by the Communications Center, a part of the CUA Department of Public Safety. 

The Center, located in 120 Leahy Hall, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Dispatchers at the Communication Center are responsible for

  • disseminating information to officers,
  • directing calls for police service,
  • coordinating emergencies,
  • dispatching escorts, and
  • managing the alarm and access control systems.

 

The phone number to reach the Dept. of Public Safety
at the Communications Center is:

(202) 319-5111.

 

2.    Patrol Division

The CUA DPS shift supervisors generally perform motor vehicle patrol. The patrol staff covers the area in five ways: on foot, by bicycle, in a vehicle, at fixed posts, and at the Metro kiosk (covered 5 p.m. until 1 a.m.). The CUA campus is divided into 11 patrol beats. An officer is assigned to each of the patrol beats during a 24-hour period. DPS uses a problem-oriented, community-based philosophy.  A campus police officer is dispatched to requests for police service. For criminal offenses and noncriminal incidents, CUA's Department of Public Safety Officers prepare an event report. The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia is immediately notified in all cases of serious felonies.

CUA patrol officers are responsible for a full range of security and safety services, including generating crime reports, conducting investigations, assisting in medical emergencies, enforcing traffic regulations, and enforcing all local laws and the provisions of the university code of conduct.  Each newly hired officer receives a one-week orientation and is instructed on departmental procedures, applicable laws, rules and regulations. Each shift has a field-training officer who holds the rank of officer first class. Field-training officers are responsible for the on-site, hands-on training of all newly hired officers assigned to their shifts.

Within the first year of employment or shortly thereafter, all CUA campus police officers receive training from the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, Campus Public Safety Institute.

Fixed posts:  Patrol officers are assigned to several fixed posts, the CUA Columbus School of Law, and the CUA Edward Pryzbyla University Center during their hours of operation. During the school year, patrol officers provide coverage at the CUA/Brookland Metro station on the CUA side and the Taylor Street Bridge at John McCormack Road during the evening and late-night hours. Officers are also deployed to Harewood Road and the Seventh and Monroe streets NE area when the need arises

Bike patrol: The bicycle patrol officer is a foot patrol officer who uses a lightweight, durable high-tech bicycle. The bicycle gives the foot patrol officer greater mobility. Officers who seek this position must complete a minimum 32 hours of physically demanding training provided by an outside police agency. The training encompasses agility testing, long-distance biking, and off-terrain riding, which challenge the durability of the bike and the officer's endurance.

3.    Investigations

The investigations unit is responsible for coordinating with the local police on investigations of all crimes, felonies or otherwise, reported to the CUA Department of Public Safety by members of the campus community. The unit monitors each crime referred to the local police through final disposition. With the concurrence of the local police, a member from the investigations unit will notify the complainant of the final disposition. This unit is also responsible for on-campus criminal and administrative investigations.

4.    Campus Transportation Management Office

This office, under the direction of the administrative services officer, is responsible for issuing parking permits. It is also charged with administering a campus transportation program including parking enforcement, vehicle immobilization, and shuttle bus operations.

The Campus Transportation Management/LD. Office is located in

121 Leahy Hall and is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

D.   Coordination with Outside Policing Agencies

The Institute relies on the CUA Department of Public Safety, as its security provider, to maintain a close working relationship with local law enforcement agencies, including the Metropolitan Police, Metro Transit Police, FBI, Consortium of Universities and the National Capital Region University and Healthcare Investigations Task Force. Joint efforts are frequently undertaken with these agencies to address crime problems affecting the CUA campus.  The CUA Department of Public Safety, staying abreast of pertinent crimes and results of investigations, etc., with the help of these agencies, issues its annual crime report for the entire CUA campus.  It is from the CUA statistical report that statistics for those areas (e.g., McGivney Hall) which are of primary concern to the Institute are drawn.  The Institute's annual report is found at www.johnpaulii.edu.  The entire CUA report, reflecting the entire CUA campus is available at http://publicsafety.cua.edu/report.cfm.

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