Twenty years ago, The Daily Free Press published an editorial accusing the Boston University Police Department of “racial profiling” and a “lack of skill.”
The piece outlined the 1984 killing of 19-year-old Christopher Dignan by a BUPD officer, detailing double-standards extended to University police and noting their routine targeting of minorities on BU’s campus.
According to the original editorial, BUPD was considered a “joke” by the rest of Boston’s law enforcement — a coalition of security guards responsible for slapping college kids on the wrist for petty antics.
Since the editorial’s publication, BUPD has been involved in another killing — the 2015 shooting of Santos Laboy by a Massachusetts state trooper while he was being chased by BUPD on the University’s campus.
The Daily Free Press has been increasingly critical of BUPD’s actions and activities on campus in the years since, paralleling an increased national scrutiny of the violence and implicit biases in policing following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020.
Another editorial, published in 2021, claimed that BUPD is not equipped to protect the safety of all students due to implicit and explicit biases in the force. The piece suggested an abolitionist framework to increase student safety — one that redirects resources to directly address the roots of campus safety concerns rather than simply reacting to them.
While campus policing is almost ubiquitous across the country — 75% percent of universities have armed officers with the power to arrest — that does not mean these systems should be accepted uncritically.
Some other universities have even begun to defund their campus police departments and redirect these funds towards other safety initiatives. Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the University of Minnesota stopped contracting the department for security at campus events.
So how do we continue with this criticism in mind? Given changing perceptions, do we move forward with divestment or work to build a better relationship with campus police?
To begin, BUPD optics have shifted dramatically since the initial editorial’s publication, as it has actively worked to develop a more approachable reputation.
Last year, the BU police department introduced a wellness dog named Bean, who has amassed an impressive 8,200 Instagram followers compared to less than 3,400 on BUPD’s account.
Although undeniably appealing to students, this tactic could also be considered manipulative. It leads to the association of an adorable puppy with police presence on campus — which, as previously mentioned, does not have an spotless history.
On the topic of social media, BUPD has been strategic in its attempts to change its image and shift the way BU students perceive its officers by featuring posts platforming female officers, most recently for International Women’s Day on March 8.
It has also focused several posts on officers of color, which is notable, considering the writers of the 2005 editorial claimed anecdotally that they had never seen a Black BUPD officer.
Additionally, BUPD has shifted to pointing students toward “wellness” resources, rather than emergency ones, seemingly to emphasize police officers are not only available in the case of an emergency. The department regularly hosts events like “Coffee with a Cop” during midterm season, allowing students to chat with officers in a more casual environment.
But has any of this image maintenance manifested in changes in the overall safety and security of BU students?
According to a BUPD 2024 security report, several reported crimes on the Charles River Campus decreased significantly between 2021 and 2023. Most notable were instances of stalking, which decreased from 16 to five.
However, crime statistics should be taken with a grain of salt, considering that students may be fearful to report crime at all, especially hate crimes and sexual assault. Furthermore, the data doesn’t reveal whether the initial issues about racial profiling raised in the 2005 editorial have been addressed.
At a time when law enforcement has been manipulated to silence dissenting political voices on college campuses, such as the arrest and detainment of pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil, it’s important to question the potential deployment of campus police as a weapon of political censorship.
Superficial actions like social media posts and wellness dogs can be the first steps in leading the way to structural change, but only if BUPD takes the time to listen to the needs of the students it purports to serve and protect.
Looking ahead, we can’t let the positive optics of approachability BUPD has developed for itself in recent years prevent us from holding it accountable. Developing a better relationship between students and BU officers is a net positive, but comfortability is a slippery slope into complacency.
This Editorial was written by Opinion Co-Editors Ada Sussman and Ruby Voge.
