Oregon State Police to End Law Enforcement Services with OSU

On the morning of October 23, Oregon State University’s president, Ed Ray, sent out a campus-wide email informing students and faculty that the Oregon State Police have made the decision to cease their law enforcement services on the university’s Corvallis campus. The plan is to fully terminate policing services on June 30, 2020. Until then, OSP’s officers will continue working on campus.=

In his email, Ray writes that the OSP cited “the need to focus OSP personnel and resources on statewide policing needs” as their reason for ending their service with OSU, which has been in place since the 1980’s.

However, the notice comes within days of OSP releasing body cam footage of the controversial arrest of OSU student Genesis Hansen. The NAACP condemned the arrest. Neither Ray or OSP indicate the change is motivated by the arrest.

In regards to concerns about security on campus, Ray stated the following:

“Campus safety remains our highest priority. University administrators are actively evaluating short-term and long-term needs for campus law enforcement — and identifying and evaluating alternative service providers — to assure there is no lapse in service.”

So far, no further information has been released as to OSU’s plans moving forward, with Ray stating that the university plans on keeping students and faculty informed on further developments.

By Thomas Nguyen

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