In 1951 the University of North Dakota first employed two full-time, uniformed, armed security officers, to work night shifts.  This was the beginning of what was to become the University of North Dakota Police Department.  Those first two officers were special deputies for the county Sheriff's Department and their duties included building security and fire watch.  The officers were hired in response to a fire that occurred at Woodward Hall in 1949.  At this time the University student population was approximately 2000 students.

    The year 1957 was a year of expansion for the Department.  The implementation of parking enforcement responsibilities, a 24 hour schedule, and the hiring of additional officers increased the size of the Department to five full-time, uniformed, and armed security officers who remained special deputy sheriff's for the county.  In 1957, the department took on crowd control duties at University events that had been previously handled by Grand Forks Police.  Also, in this year the Department obtained its first two-way radio equipped vehicle.

    By 1968, the department had expanded to six full-time uniformed, armed officers and a full time Director of Security.  Three of the officers had prior service as municipal police officers.  Other than that, street experience was limited to that gained on the job.  Formal training was limited to what was offered by the Grand Forks Police Department.  The department was assigned two permanent vehicles in 1969 for the first time.

    In the late 1960's and early to mid 1970's the need for a professional, autonomous police department at the University of North Dakota became clear.  During this period the so-called Viet Nam era, the University experienced some campus unrest and disruption.  This period of unrest was national in scope.  Many universities and college administrators saw that their campus security or night watch departments were inadequately staffed, trained, and equipped properly and legally resolve the "sit-ins", "strikes" and "riots" which were occurring on their campuses.

    Some administrators felt it necessary to call in outside law enforcement agencies to help quell major disruptions.  They found that their control of the situations was then relinquished because of command and operational necessity.  Though well meaning and operating to achieve the goal of law and order, these outside agencies through their inexperience in dealing with students, lack of campus orientation and unintentional overreaction to given situations, sometimes only worsened already critical situations.  The full realization and impact of these occurrences and the resulting consequences further reinforced the need for a professional, well trained police or security department with special emphasis and direction in training to campus orientation.

    In response to these problems, the University of North Dakota Security Department expanded in 1971 from six full time officers to eight full time officers and in 1970 a full time departmental secretary was hired.  Also in 1971, the department first started hiring student assistant officers.  In 1973, the department sent its first officers to the North Dakota Law Enforcement Training Center at Bismarck, North Dakota.  At the center the officers received five weeks (later expanded to seven weeks) of police basic training.  Upon completion of this course, the officers were certified by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office as peace officers in the state of North Dakota (by 1979, 90% of the department's officers had received certification status).

    In 1975, the Vietnam era began to phase out.  The university began to expand with construction of new facilities and buildings.  The student body was rapidly growing and new married housing areas were being constructed.  Much larger crowds were attending events at the University's excellent facilities and the scheduling of those events became heavy.  Traffic and parking problems increased and became more difficult to resolve.

    From a relatively quiet, docile campus UND became the most progressive campus in the region.  With this growth and progression came increased crime, spousal and child abuse, physical and sexual assaults, exhibitionism, voyeurism, prowler or suspicious person calls, burglaries, firearm threats, etc.  In addition, theft of property was on the rise, expensive laboratory, office and instructional equipment was being reported stolen on a regular basis.  The campus parking lots, which accommodated parking for more vehicles than any other facility in the state, became the targets for thieves and vandals.  Complaints of thefts of batteries, stereo sets, two-way radios, personal items, as well as smashed windshields, broken or bent antennas and other intentional acts of vandalism were being called in with regularity.  The campus proper, alleys and sidewalks, either city or privately owned, and adjacent to campus, became the hangout for assaulters, exhibitionists and other undesirables.  In addition, the obligation to provide protection and security for our large coed population was alone a tremendous responsibility.

    To respond to these new problems the department again expanded.  In 1979 a full time building security officer was employed to give the officers more patrol time.  Also, in 1979 the departments primary patrol vehicles were equipped with modern police light bars.  During 1980 an additional officer was hired.  By mid 1980 the department consisted of a full time director, nine officers, a full time secretary a full time building security officer and four part time work study student assistant officers.

    However, even with the expansion and training the department was still not a bona fide police department.  The officers' powers were still limited to those of special deputies.  These factors continued to hinder the department from providing the university community with the services that were essential to its needs and safety.

    During the late summer of 1980, the Director of Security met with the Director of Operations and the Assistant Director of Operations and discussed police and security needs for the university for the upcoming year.  This also included department needs, shortcomings, and hindrances created by the department's status at the time and the possibility of upgrading the department.

    First discussed and reviewed were the provisions of State Statute 15-10-17.1.  This statute provides the State Board of Higher Education the power to authorize "the use of special policemen to assist in enforcing the regulations and the law on the campus of a college or university", and further provided these policemen with concurrent jurisdiction with other law enforcement officers in performing those duties.  Since the department's officers were already recognized, trained and certified by the Attorney General's Office, it was decided to pursue the goal of providing the university with full police services.

    The committee subsequently met with the vice president of finance who concurred with the requests and stated he would bring the proposal before the State Board of Higher Education for approval.  Approval was given by the board at their meetings on October 16 and 17 of 1980 and a memo was sent from the University of North Dakota President to the vice president of finance, dated November 10, 1980, authorizing him to appoint campus police officers in accordance with section 15-10-17.1 of the North Dakota Century Code.

    On December 8, 1980 a swearing in ceremony was conducted and the University of North Dakota Police Department became a duly sworn bona fide police department.  The department now had recognized police status and autonomy.

    During the years of 1981 and 1982 the department expanded in the area of police equipment.  The department's primary patrol vehicles were marked in accordance with state law.  The vehicles were equipped for prisoner transport and state radios were installed.  The state radios gave the department the ability to run drivers license checks, vehicle registrations, and obtain NCIC information.  Also in 1981, the departments officers started investigating traffic accidents that occurred on campus and citation books were issued to all sworn officers.  In 1982, two part time non student ticket writers were hired to allow the daytime officers more time to concentrate on law enforcement duties.  These positions were later consolidated to one full-time Security Officer position with ticket writing and money transport responsibilities.

    The next step needed was to have a clearly defined jurasdiction in which the University Police could patrol and respond to calls legally.  The department could clearly patrol and render service within facilities and on properties owned by the state; however, problems arose when requests for service involved responding to incidents which had occurred or were occurring on city dedicated property located in or running through the campus proper.  A couple of examples of this undesirable situation would be when one of the greek houses located on city dedicated property within the campus would request help and their calls had to be referred to the city police for action; or a university community member would report an accident which occurred in the middle of campus on University Avenue, but the University Police could not investigate the accident because University Avenue is a city street.  This was frustrating for the department, having to turn down and refer requests for help from members of its own community.  In addition to the above problems there also was a problem of needless duplication at times with the city police department.  Often a member of the University community would call the city police for assistance on university property and the result would be that both departments would respond and both complete reports on the matter when it should have only been handled by the university police.

    The solution to this jurisdictional problem and other police and public safety related matters came through an official agreement with the City of Grand Forks.  The Director of Auxiliary Services, the University Chief of Police and the Grand Forks Chief of Police met several times during 1982 and 1983, to discuss the possibility of effecting an agreement between the City of Grand Forks and the University of North Dakota.  All concurred that such an agreement was needed and would be of great benefit to both the University and the City of Grand Forks.  Stipulations of the agreement and plans for implementation were further discussed at successive meetings.  Attending these meetings, in addition to the aforementioned parties were the city and university attorneys.  The two attorneys carefully studied the jurisdiction proposed (later referred to as the "campus district") and all of the stipulations contained in the agreement.  The final draft of the agreement was approved by all parties concerned, and on November 17, 1983 was signed by the mayor of the City of Grand Forks and Vice President of Operations at the University of North Dakota.

    The city agreement has worked well since its implementation.  The operational hindrances experienced by the University Police have long since been resolved.  It also has created a unique fellowship and a mutual respect between the UND police and city police officers, as well as others in the law enforcement community who work with the UND Police.  Most important of all, it has provided the means to render to the university community the best and most efficient police service possible.

    With the implementation of the "city agreement," the University Police Department became much more involved with traffic law enforcement, including DUI and speed enforcement.  In 1984, the department began running radar in the campus district to enforce speed laws writing several hundred speeding citations a year along with issuing citations for other traffic violations.  Also during a year, University police officers, arrest on average, 75 drivers for driving under the influence.  Also, during 1984 the University police adopted a distinctive patch for the officers uniforms that bears the State Seal.  The purpose of the patch was to assist the public in recognizing the campus police from the Grand Forks police who wear the same type of uniform.

    Another significant event that occurred during 1984 was that the department implemented in investigative capability which enabled the department to investigate all crimes occurring within the campus district.  This move eliminated the need to call in the city detective bureau, except in cases involving homicide and tactical situations, as per the city agreement.  In 1986 the department computerized its records keeping system and signed a law enforcement mutual aid agreement with the Grand Forks Police Department.  In 1987, the department, in addition to its work study students, hired several part time personnel to issue parking tickets to help resolve the growing parking problem on the campus.  Also hired were two sworn, part time officers to assist the full time personnel during those days extra personnel were needed.  The department also increased its effectiveness during 1987 by sending a sworn officer to the federal explosive device school thus giving the department bomb disposal capabilities.  This led to another mutual aid agreement with the city in regards to bomb disposal operations.

    During 1988, the department once again improved its services to the university community by joining with the Grand Forks Police Department and the Grand Forks Sheriff's Department in a law enforcement combined dispatch operation.  The dispatch console at the Grand Forks Police Department was upgraded and expanded with funding from all three departments and extra dispatchers were hired.  The dispatch system was computerized and is currently an enhanced 911 system.  The new dispatch system gave the university police officers immediate access to all local warrant information.  On October 10, 1988 at 5:00 pm call forwarding was utilized for the first time and the university police twenty-four hour emergency numbers were transferred to the new dispatch center.

    During the week of June 18-24, 1989, the department moved to the new Auxiliary Services Building.  For the first time in the department's history the it had a permanent office.  Prior to the move to the Auxiliary Services Building the department had been moved many different locations on the campus.  These locations included such places as the university's steam plant, central receiving building, the old parking office, the basement of plant services and at one point the department consisted of a broom closet (with a time clock in it) in the Twamley administration building.  In most cases the department was considered a "tenant" in the building it was in and the officer conditions were, to say the least, crowded and undesirable.  This changed with the move to the department's new facility.  Included in the new offices was space for the new Traffic Division of the department.  The Traffic Division is responsible for the processing of university parking tickets and the selling of parking permits.  Previously called the Parking Office, the decision consists of two full time clerks, and an Administrative Officer.

    It should be noted also that since 1980 when the department became a law enforcement agency, training in all aspects of law enforcement for all sworn members of the department has increased dramatically and there are five state certified law enforcement instructors in the department for subjects ranging from the use of force to community relations.  All the officers remain certified and, as of july 1, 1989, licensed officers in the State of North Dakota.  In 1990, one full time officer was assigned to the joint cooperative effort of the Drug Task Force.  Officers from the various agencies in the Grand Forks area work together to solve the problems of illicit drug sales and use.

    On march 28, 1992 at 3:07 p.m.(Central time) the Commission for the Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, at their meeting in Tucson, Arizona, granted national accredited status to the University of North Dakota Police Department.  In less that twelve years since the department became a bona fide law enforcement agency the department had achieved the highest honor that a state or local law enforcement agency can receive.  The department's work on national accreditation began in October of 1985 when the President of the University of North Dakota signed a contract with the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies.  During the next seven years the University of North Dakota Police Department, with very limited resources, worked on the huge task of receiving national accreditation.  Despite some delays that were beyond the department's control, the department never gave up on accomplishing this major goal.  The University of North Dakota Police Department became only the fourth university police department in the United States to be accredited.  In North Dakota, the university police became only the third law enforcement agency in the state to be accredited.

    On June 14, 1995 at 2:00 p.m. the University of North Dakota Police Department implemented a police bicycle patrol.  Utilizing two specially equipped Cannondale police bicycles, the patrol has been and is used to promote community relations and to supplement the department's motorized and foot patrols.  In 1996, UND Police received its first Community Policing Grant.  With this the department developed a formal community policing program and philosophy.

The year 1997 brought forth the worst flood in the history of the University of North Dakota. The flood caused over 40 million dollars in damage to the university. Yet the University of North Dakota Police Department was up to the task of protecting the campus. Working with the National Guard, other Law Enforcement Agencies, and an Emergency Operations Center, University of North Dakota Police Officers worked in 12-hour shifts, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to provide maximum protection for the university's millions of dollars worth of facilities that had been evacuated due to the flood. Because of the efforts of the UND Police Department and other agencies that worked with the department the university did not suffer losses from any criminal actions during the time of the flood.

1997 also was the end of the department's national accreditation period. Because of budget concerns and lack of personnel to work on accreditation the department was unable to apply for re-accreditation. The department hopes to become re-accredited some time in the future when personnel and budget conditions permit it.

In December of 1998 the department moved its Traffic Division from its police department headquarters to a newly remodeled office on the ground level of the Memorial Student Union in the central part of campus. The purpose of the move was to provide more accessibility to students when buying parking permits. Suverys had also indicated that the student union location for the Traffic Division of the department would better serve the entire university community.

During January of 1999, the department felt the loss of its narcotics grant position. The difficulty of coming up with matching funds because of reductions in the department's budget forced the department, through attrition, to drop its narcotics officer position. However, the department still supports and cooperates fully with the local narcotics task force. This support and cooperation includes the occasional use of the department's facilities by the task force and the providing of information to the task force of any knowledge the department has of local illegal drug activities.

1999 also was the year that the department greatly expanded its jurisdiction both on a statewide basis and throughout the city of Grand Forks. Through the action of the North Dakota Legislature UND Police Officers, along with other campus police officers in North Dakota were given jurisdiction on any campus in the state that is under the control and direction of the North Dakota Board of Higher Education. Under the direction of the Board of Higher Education UND Police Officers can now be sent to any state college or university in North Dakota to conduct law enforcement operations as needed. The department also expanded its jurisdiction throughout the city of Grand Forks with a new city agreement that provided that UND Police Officers would also be police officers for the city of Grand Forks. Thus,UND Police Officers now have citywide jurisdiction with the power to enforce all city ordinances in addition to the state laws they have already been enforcing.

The summer of 1999 however, was also another time of setback for the department when, through attrition, the department lost its community policing grant position. Once again this loss was caused by budget reductions that did not enable the department to replace the federal money that had been used on the three-year community police officer grant position. However, despite this loss the department continues on with its community policing philosophy. Since the department has adopted a generalized approach to community policing every member of the department participates, according to his or her job classification, in the community policing effort. Department members directly participate in dozens of community policing types of activities or functions each year.

The year 2000 was another year of advancement for the department with the installation of a laptop computer in one of the department's four marked police units. The laptop, tied into a statewide computer network operated by North Dakota State Radio gave the department's sworn officers additional capabilities in regards to obtaining registration, driver licenses and warrant information. It also provided a new messaging system for law enforcement communications with other area law enforcement agencies.

Today the University of North Dakota Police Department consists of a Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police/Investigator, two Night Supervisors of Police, six full-time Police Officers, two part-time Police Officers, a full-time Administrative Assistant, two full-time Traffic Division Clerks, two full-time Security Officers, and numerous part-time student and non-student assistant security workers and office assistants. The department operates nine motor vehicles, including four marked police patrol units, three parking enforcement vehicles, one conventional van and one step van. The department also uses two police patrol bicycles, for general police patrol functions and several other bicycles for parking enforcement. The department currently protects a campus district of over 15,000 people.

Top