The preparation for and response to critical incidents offer several unique challenges for college police departments. First, most colleges do not have their own fire departments and emergency medical response personnel, so the successful handling of the event will rely on significant coordination with and assistance from neighboring jurisdictions. Second, while many college departments have bicycle patrol officers, all but the largest campus forces lack many of the specialized units, such as traffic, SWAT, civil disturbance units, and public affairs that play such a critical role in these types of events. Third, campus police departments must be cognizant of school policies, in addition to criminal codes, and, therefore, must protect students'freedom of speech and due process rights as defined by the institution. For instance, colleges have traditionally been held as safe havens for free thought and speech, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings reflect these rights. As a result, expectations and reactions to free speech or a demonstrations on campus may be different than off campus. Many colleges have multi-layered rules about daily free speech that outside responding officers likely will not be aware of or understand. Furthermore, because of the culture of the college world, it is not unheard of for a college president or other administrative official to address demonstrators directly and to allow incidents to occur that the police may prefer to shutdown. Fourth, and related to school culture and policies, campus departments regularly interact with campus security advisory committees, whose priorities focus on student rights. Fifth, college departments also must be concerned with protecting the college "brand." For instance, a misstep during a critical incident would likely result in more scrutiny than if it happened off campus. Boards and committees abound at colleges and bristle at the thought of their police using force. In fact, there are leaders at some colleges that would rather not have campus police at all. The sight of police pulling over a student violator or making an arrest can be a source of tension for some administrators and faculty who consider policing and educational pursuits to be mutually exclusive. Finally, college police are bound by U.S. federal law to report and implement specific actions not required of non-college police for selected major crimes, to include a variety of sexual offenses. College departments are required to report these crimes annually to the U.S. Department of Education, and government audits of police activities can result in hefty financial sanctions ($35,000 per violation) levied against the institution.
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