The importance of demarcating
a university’s campus from a municipality became more important once
universities created their own police departments, which are distinct from a
city’s police department both in terms of mission and democratic legitimacy. From
the standpoint of a police department, being subject to a university’s administration
is qualitatively different than being a department under a democratically-elected
mayor and city council. I contend that in terms of how university-police
employees treat Black and Hispanic local residents, this fundamental
distinction is crucial even though it is seldom made. UCLA, located in the
Westwood area of Los Angeles in California, is a case in point. So too—and even
more so, is the private Yale University, located in New Haven in
Connecticut.
The full essay is at "UCLA Police."
