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• @libroraptor@mastodon.nz 2026-09-29 09:41

  @mdione@en.osm.town @heidilifeldman@mastodon.social I was at two nearby universities for some time. Many US universities have their own police forces and tasks are divided between them depending on where the event happens and who's involved. So the police did act here, but as in many cases it came to nothing. The universities themselves don't have prisons, and their scope for penalty is expulsion at the most. Institutional reputation is of concern in their decisions and processes, as are relationships with supporters and donors. Some enjoy good relations with the surrounding town or city; some don't. Thus some university police forces are concerned with things like protecting the campus or students from "townies", or with containing students and football visitors so they don't cause too much trouble off campus. I had a few small opportunities to see the campus police at work. First time was when I was approached by someone asking for money because he'd just come out of prison and had nothing. It was early in the morning, still dark, while I was waiting for a shuttle bus to the airport. A campus police officer came over and intervened. I mentioned my disbelief in the man's story and the officer laughed, then explained that yeah, the prisons in the US really do turf you out on the street with not even a bus fare and clothes to ward off the cold and rain. Second time was when I was Suspect #1 after a museum item turned up on ebay. The last record we had of it was from decades earlier; I had never actually seen it myself. But I had unsupervised access to the collection store so they had to question me. Eventually things turned around and I supplied forensic advice over several weeks of clues coming in, and recommended further clues that they look for; they didn't know how to do it because their work is about people, not about property.

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