External Law Enforcement Policy

The primary mission of the University Police Department will be to provide for the general welfare of the SUNY Oneonta community and to enforce laws and regulations which are necessary to ensure a safe and secure campus environment. These policies are intended to address the SUNY Oneonta concern for the protection of individual rights and privacy as well as to ensure appropriate cooperation with external law enforcement agencies. The following will serve as guidelines with respect to our relationships with external law enforcement agencies:

1. The director of University Police or his designee shall be notified when any external law enforcement official requests permission to conduct official business on campus. Whenever possible, students, faculty, staff (through a phone call) will be given the option of conducting business at the University Police office. Students contacted by phone must respond to the phone call within a reasonable period of time. If it becomes necessary for the external law enforcement official to go to a residence hall, the residence hall director shall be contacted by University Police. Business should be conducted in the residence hall director's office, not the student's room, whenever possible. When the residence hall director of the student's residence hall or residence hall director on duty cannot be contacted, the Student Affairs central staff person on duty shall be notified and, whenever possible, should accompany the external law enforcement official/University Police officer to the residence hall director's office.

2. In the event of a felony arrest or any bias-related incident, violent crime, sexual assault or suicide attempt on campus, the following persons should be notified immediately following the incident:

  • SUNY Oneonta president
  • Vice president for Student Affairs or his/her designee
  • District attorney (sexual assaults/felony arrests)
  • Director of University Police or his/her designee
  • Student Affairs central staff - if after regular working hours. (The Student Affairs central staff currently makes a determination whether to contact parents or guardian - this is in the process of review.)
  • Residence hall director

If the University Police office or Student Affairs office is notified by an external law enforcement agency of a felony arrest, the above-mentioned contacts will be made.

3. Except with permission from the vice president for Student Affairs or his/her designee, external law enforcement officials/University Police officers shall not remove a student, staff or faculty member from class or request a student to leave class. If the only contact that can be made with the student is through a particular instructor, the instructor should be contacted prior to the class and should be asked to request that the student contact University Police.

4. In the event of an external law enforcement official/University Police officer request for non-directory, personally identifiable student information, the president or designee and more than two (2) administrative staff members who have been specifically trained in the provisions of the Buckley Amendment, will arrive at a decision regarding whether that information should be released.

5. Requests for assistance from an outside law enforcement agency will be made in situations where a weapon is present, or when the personal safety of officers, campus community members and/or physical plant is at serious risk and the number of campus officers on duty is insufficient to control or stabilize the situation. Such requests will be made by the senior staff person on duty in the Department of University Police.

The guidelines mentioned above should be adhered to by external law enforcement officials in all situations possible; however, SUNY Oneonta understands there may be emergency situations in which these procedures cannot be followed.

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