53B-28-402.  Campus safety study — Report to Legislature.

(1)  As used in this section:

Terms Used In Utah Code 53B-28-402

  • Board: means the Utah Board of Higher Education described in Section 53B-1-402. See Utah Code 53B-1-101.5
  • institution: means a public or private postsecondary institution that is located in Utah, including an institution of higher education listed in Section 53B-1-102. See Utah Code 53B-28-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  “Campus law enforcement” means a unit of an institution that provides public safety services.

(b) 

(i)  “Institution” means an institution of higher education described in Section 53B-2-101.

(ii)  “Institution” includes an institution’s campus law enforcement.

(c)  “Local law enforcement” means a state or local law enforcement agency other than campus law enforcement.

(d)  “Public safety services” means police services, security services, dispatch services, emergency services, or other similar services.

(e)  “Sexual violence” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53B-28-301.

(f)  “Special district” means the same as that term is defined in Section 17B-1-102.

(g)  “Special service district” means the same as that term is defined in Section 17D-1-102.

(h)  “Student” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53B-28-301.

(i)  “Student organization” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53B-28-401.

(2)  The board shall:

(a)  study issues related to providing public safety services on institution campuses, including:

(i)  policies and practices for hiring, supervision, and firing of campus law enforcement officers;

(ii)  training of campus law enforcement in responding to incidents of sexual violence or other crimes reported by or involving a student, including training related to lethality or similar assessments;

(iii)  how campus law enforcement and local law enforcement respond to reports of incidents of sexual violence or other crimes reported by or involving a student, including supportive measures for victims and disciplinary actions for perpetrators;

(iv)  training provided to faculty, staff, students, and student organizations on campus safety and prevention of sexual violence;

(v)  roles, responsibilities, jurisdiction, and authority of local law enforcement and campus law enforcement, including authority based on:

(A)  the type of public safety services provided; or

(B)  geographic boundaries;

(vi)  how an institution and local law enforcement coordinate to respond to on-campus and off-campus incidents requiring public safety services, including:

(A)  legal requirements or restrictions affecting coordination;

(B)  agreements, practices, or procedures governing coordination between an institution and local law enforcement, including mutual support, sharing information, or dispatch management; and

(C)  any issues that may affect the timeliness of a response to an on-campus or off-campus incident reported by or involving a student;

(vii)  infrastructure, staffing, and equipment considerations that impact the effectiveness of campus law enforcement or local law enforcement responses to an on-campus or off-campus incident reported by or involving a student;

(viii)  the benefits and disadvantages of an institution employing campus law enforcement compared to local law enforcement providing public safety services on an institution campus;

(ix)  an institution’s compliance with federal and state crime statistic reporting requirements;

(x)  how an institution informs faculty, staff, and students about a crime or emergency on campus;

(xi)  national best practices for providing public safety services on institution campuses, including differences in best practices based on the size, infrastructure, location, and other relevant characteristics of a college or university; and

(xii)  any other issue the board determines is relevant to the study;

(b)  make recommendations for providing public safety services on institution campuses statewide;

(c)  produce a final report of the study described in this section, including the recommendations described in Subsection (2)(b); and

(d)  in accordance with Section 68-3-14, present the final report described in Subsection (2)(c) to the Education Interim Committee and the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee at or before the committees’ November 2021 meetings.

(3)  In carrying out the board’s duties under this section, the board may coordinate with individuals and organizations with knowledge, expertise, or experience related to the board’s duties under this section, including:

(a)  the Department of Health;

(b)  the Utah Office for Victims of Crime;

(c)  the Utah Council on Victims of Crime;

(d)  institutions;

(e)  local law enforcement;

(f)  special districts or special service districts that provide 911 and emergency dispatch service; and

(g)  community and other non-governmental organizations.

Amended by Chapter 16, 2023 General Session

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