Arrest Powers
The Department of Public Safety of the University of West Georgia is a state certified police agency. The officers assigned to the police division are empowered by state law (OCGA 20-8-2) with the same authority to arrest and conduct searches as any Georgia police officer working for a state, county or city agency. The University has entered into mutual aid agreements with the City of Carrollton and Carroll County which, under specified conditions, allow University police officers to operate off campus while still maintaining their police authority. The Department of Public Safety is part of the Division of Business and Finance and answers to the Vice President for Business and Finance.
Public Safety's jurisdiction includes all property owned or leased by the University plus 500 yards. Since the University falls under the authority of the University System of Georgia, West Georgia police officers have arrest authority on the campuses of the other 33 institutions within the system. Certified officers from those institutions may exercise their arrest powers while on the West Georgia campus.
The police officers assigned to the Uniform Division wear a dark blue uniform with shoulder patches and a cloth badge as shown below. Administrative and investigative police officers wear khaki pants with a black shirt embroidered with the University logo and Police on the left breast. On rare occasions administrative or investigate personnel will wear a suit or some other dress. If you ever question that the person you are speaking with is a police officer with Public Safety, ask for ID or call 678-839-6000 for confirmation.
All police personnel are armed with semiautomatic pistols. The officers must qualify with their weapons prior to graduation from the academy. After that, they must re-qualify three times a year to ensure they are capable of firing the pistol accurately and handling it safely. Each officer is trained in judgmental shooting and is issued a copy of the Department's use of force policy. This policy dictates the type of force to be used depending on the level of threat present to the officer and the public.
The department has also trained and issued to the officers a variety of non-lethal weapons. The availability of non-lethal weapons provides the officers with options in controlling a violent person short of using deadly force. These include the ASP nightstick, pepper spray, and the Taser. The Taser fires an electrical charge, which temporarily stuns a person until he or she can be taken into custody. The Department's Use of Force Policy covers the proper method for utilizing the weapons and all personnel are trained in their use prior to being allowed to carry them.
All criminal cases, which occur on campus, are investigated by Public Safety. Those cases, which result in arrest, are prosecuted in either the State or Superior Court of Carroll County. Persons arrested by Public Safety are transported by the Department to the Carroll County Jail where they are processed and lodged. Most violations of the motor vehicle code are prosecuted in the Carrollton City Court.
It should be noted that the City Police, County Sheriff's Department, Georgia State Patrol and the West Georgia Drug Task Force have jurisdiction on the campus. Though Public Safety is the primary law enforcement agency for the University, these other agencies can and do operate on campus on occasion.
