The LSU Police Department’s patrol division is comparable in number to most similar-sized Southeastern Conference institutions, but the number of violations vary at different schools  — and LSUPD’s reported numbers were among the lowest.
LSUPD designates about 30 of its 70 officers as patrol officers, said Capt. Cory Lalonde, LSUPD spokesman. Around six to 10 officers are on patrol at any time, and the same number of LSUPD’s 24 police cruisers are in use.
Lalonde said LSUPD’s jurisdiction includes the general campus as well as any property owned by the University and any street that borders University property. LSUPD has statewide jurisdiction over any investigation that begins on campus.
Patrol sizes at the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia are similar to LSUPD. Ole Miss has an average of six of its 35 patrol officers overseeing campus at any given time, said Capt. Michael Harman of the Ole Miss University Police Department. Georgia typically has six to eight officers on patrol at one time, but the number can increase to 18 on weekends, according to UGA Police Lt. Eric Dellinger.
But at the University of Tennessee, only three officers are required to be on patrol at any given time, though the number can reach six or seven, said Lt. Emily Simerly with UT Police.
The University of Florida patrol officers number about 12 at a time, said UF police officer Gregory Castronover. UF has the highest number of employed patrol officers at 64.
The University of Alabama employs 30 patrol officers but could not say how many officers monitor the campus on average because of safety reasons, said Cathy Andreen, director of media relations at Alabama.
The public has a way of evaluating these patrol departments through the Clery Act, a national requirement for all university police forces to report annual crime statistics. The Clery Act requires the reporting of campus crimes in different categories, including liquor- and drug-related incidents.
These incidents include reported instances involving both arrests and non-arrests.
Liquor law violations, not including DWIs and public intoxication, vary drastically at different universities.
LSUPD reported more than 100 liquor-related violations in 2010, but schools like UT and Alabama reported higher violation numbers at 530 and 533, respectively.
Other schools that reported higher numbers of liquor law violations than LSU include Florida and Georgia. Ole Miss only reported 10 violations in 2010.
UT, Alabama and Georgia also reported significantly more drug violations than LSU at 83, 217 and 92, respectively. LSUPD only reported 54 incidents.
These differences in numbers of incidents handled by police may not be a reflection of the efficiency of patrol departments, Lalonde said. He said Clery Act statistics do provide a glimpse into the state of crime on campus, but it does not cover everything.
When looking at the difference in violation numbers, Lalonde said it’s important to consider the variance of laws in different states.
“The Clery Act definitions and criteria are based on a national standard,” Lalonde said. “But states have different