No Problems With Police Jurisdiction

An agreement between the town of Chapel Hill and UNC that extended the jurisdiction of University police is proving useful for investigations, said Maj. Jeff McCracken of University police.

In June, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved a resolution proposed by the UNC Board of Trustees that allows University police officers to serve warrants at the magistrate's office, operate off campus when pursuing suspects and investigate on-campus crimes.

McCracken said University police have used the extended territorial jurisdiction five times since June and have encountered no problems.

In three of those instances, University police officers went off campus to follow up on criminal investigations. The other two times were for serving arrest warrants.

"To be able to serve papers at the magistrate's office is one of the biggest advantages, but overall, the agreement is good because it will allow us to follow up on investigations in the city where evidence or property is located," McCracken said.

Before the territorial jurisdiction expansion agreement was reached, University police officers had to be escorted by a Chapel Hill police officer while conducting business off campus.

"It is a more efficient system, and it saves us time from having to call an officer from the city and then have to wait for them to come and meet us," McCracken said.

Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said the department is pleased with how the agreement has worked so far.

Town police have had no problems with University police conducting business in the town, Cousins said.

When the agreement was considered last spring, several council members were concerned University police might overextend themselves into activities reserved only for Chapel Hill police, specifically traffic enforcement.

McCracken said this has not been an issue because University police are only allowed to enforce traffic rules on roads that border University property, as was the case before the agreement was made.

He also said University police still notify Chapel Hill police out of courtesy when they need to exercise the extended jurisdiction.

Council members also were concerned with how residents would react to a "foreign" police force working in the town.

But McCracken said University police have gone to great lengths to ensure that residents are comfortable with University police officers working in the town.

When dealing with people in the town, University police officers must fully identify themselves, say they work for the University, state their purpose in being off campus and point out that they are working under expanded jurisdiction.

"We wouldn't want any confusion about who the officer has worked for," McCracken said.

Although Carrboro is not included in the extended jurisdiction agreement, McCracken said University police might try to involve Carrboro in a similar partnership in the future.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.