Penn State scandal puts focus on the role of campus police departments

Nov 14, 2011 1:36 PM

From The New York Times: The sexual abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University involving a former assistant football coach is an example of a parallel judicial universe that exists at many of the nation's colleges and universities. On most of these campuses, law enforcement is the responsibility of sworn police officers who report to university authorities, not to the public. With full-fledged arrest powers, such campus police forces have enormous discretion in deciding whether to refer cases directly to district attorneys or to leave them to the quiet handling of in-house disciplinary proceedings.

EARLIER...

News release: The U.S. Department of Education says it will launch an investigation into whether Penn State University failed to comply with the Clery Act in regard to allegations of sex offenses on campus by a former school official. Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at the university, has been charged with sexually abusing several young boys over several years, including incidents on campus.

RELATED from The Harrisburg Patriot-News: Several thousand students from Penn State rushed into the downtown area of State College, Pa., and damaged light posts and a news truck in the wake of the announcement that the university board of trustees had fired longtime football coach Joe Paterno and Penn State president Graham Spanier.

FIRED...from The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania State Universityhead football coach Joe Paterno and president Graham B. Spanier have been fired, toppled by questions and criticism over the way they handled allegations of child sex-abuse by a former coach. Neither Paterno nor Spanier could withstand the backlash that started when longtime defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was charged with molesting eight boys, and two administrators were accused of covering up one of his assaults.

VIDEO...from PhiladelphiaCBSlocal.com:

CHARGED...from The Harrisburg Patriot-News: Pennsylvania authorities have accused former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of molesting boys over a decade. A 23-page grand-jury presentment says Sandusky used his celebrity status to gain access to children he could molest. The charges involve eight young male victims and include 21 felonies and 19 misdemeanors.

Read the grand jury report (PDF file...Warning graphic content)