Campus Police & Missing Persons

[slamdunk]

The media has been running the story of a missing Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Behl. She was last seen by her roommate on September 5 at 10:20 pm--when Taylor graciously left her dorm room to give her roomie and boyfriend some time alone. The roommate contacted campus police on September 7th, and said that she had not seen Taylor since 9/5.

From what is posted about the VCU campus police on their site, they employ 70 officers, have arrest powers on campus, and offer the usual campus policing services (crime prevention, safety escorts, etc.).

On September 15th, VCU issued a press release saying they were turning over the missing person investigation to the Richmond Police Department. Richmond PD announced that they were setting up a task force of local, state, and federal authorities to investigate the case.

Is anyone else surprised that it took 8 days for VCU to bring in the Richmond Police? Wouldn't the Pd in a large city be much better equipped to handle a missing person's case (with the potential for being a criminal case)? It seems like the Richmond folks lost 8 days of valuable investigation time.

Taylor reportedly only took her car keys with her. VCU authorities are unsure where her car was parked, but believe she would have had to walk to an off-campus parking lot to it. I know that college freshman are unpredictable, but when an attractive young female is missing who probably was walking late at night on the streets of Richmond with just her car keys

[jefsmith77]

VCU had primary jurisdiction. It also appears that from the start it was just a missing person case. Only recently does it appear evidence has been produced that shows otherwise. Around here alot of agencies rely on other ones for help when it comes to criminal cases and what may be lenghty investigations. It looks like from the article VCUPD will still be in the investigation. I say both agencies are handling it alright.

[Tennsix]

Two heads are better than one.

So, what you are saying is this the

[slamdunk]

Missing Person Case

I wasn

[Bklngirl]

I teach in College for many years.I'm a pretty tuff cookie,and don't scare easily.A few of times over the years I've had students I was really afraid of,I hate to say this but,I got very little help from campus scurity(only a small handful were helpful over the years),Campus security(by my experience)does not havethe training that the regular police Dep't. has.This was outragious,the police should have been called immediatly.She also should not have had to leave because her roommate wanted to be alone with her boyfriend,that's not a reason.

[jefsmith77]

I hope you don't teach English in college!!!!!! If your college has security then I guess that's what I would expect. A majority of colleges/universities have their own Police Departments with dedicated individuals who care about what they are doing. They are sworn in the state they work and have the same powers as muny police and sheriffs. In some areas, they are the biggest agency with the sweetest toys.

[Tennsix]

I am a COP

I teach in College for many years.I'm a pretty tuff cookie,and don't scare easily.A few of times over the years I've had students I was really afraid of,I hate to say this but,I got very little help from campus scurity(only a small handful were helpful over the years),Campus security(by my experience)does not havethe training that the regular police Dep't. has.This was outragious,the police should have been called immediatly.She also should not have had to leave because her roommate wanted to be alone with her boyfriend,that's not a reason.

I am a university police officer. I have worked for a municipal police department and a county sheriff

[PhilipCal]

Campus police-missing persons

The easiest thing to be is a Monday morning quarterback. Many missing persons cases become criminal investigations quite quickly depending on the circumstances. A good many are simply that. Missing persons. My personal experiences and interaction with University Police has been 99%favorable. They are well trained,dedicated Officers, often working for campus administrations who have no earthly idea of what a law enforcement agency does. There is a tremendous difference between campus security agencies, and campus police. It's amazing that seemingly educated people are unable to discern the difference.These are often the same people who think ice hockey is frozen horse**&&^!!

[jefsmith77]

I really like that last sentence...sums it up perfectly

[Rescue492]

I dispatch for VCU --- RPD was assisting from the beginning and VCU is still involved in the case...practically the only thing changed is who is "in charge." The RPD Lt that found the car could have found it even if VCU still was "in charge."
There are many other missing persons cases just like this one all over that do not get the attention this one does. Let's hope they are all found and not judge how well a department can handle a case. VCU has more resources than many small departments.

[slamdunk]

...There are many other missing persons cases just like this one all over that do not get the attention this one does. Let's hope they are all found and not judge how well a department can handle a case.

Thanks for your input Rescue492.

Missing person cases (especially involving attractive females) now attract big viewing audiences for the media. A Google search of "Taylor Behl" returns 51,800 hits--the vast majority being articles, web blogs, discussion forums, and other online pages concerning her disappearance. This phenomenon is not going to change as more and more citizens become interested and want to discuss these types of cases. One advantage of high profile missing person cases is obviously the ability to disseminate information to a larger percentage of the public. A potential disadvantage is the increased public scrutiny of the investigating officers and the department