The SU force is composed of 17 full-time, fully accredited officers. About half of the forces, including Shippensburg's, are armed. SU Chief Herb Bowers says the legislation would not necessitate hiring more officers to the force. Next year, the township will be covered only by Pennsylvania state police in Carlisle if this legislation is not passed. The campus police would provide additional coverage, not replace the state police in those areas.
University police are familiar with campus-related incidents.
Let's use them more wisely and let state police focus on the rest of Shippensburg Township. Legislation was introduced to the state House in 1997 that would have allowed forces from SSHE schools, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania to cover areas off campus. But SSHE Media Relations Manager Kenn Marshall says the state schools were pulled from the bill before it passed. Marshall does not expect the bill to move forward before the legislature's session ends in November, although Mowery says it's his intention to get the bill passed before the break-up of the regional police. At the end of the year, we have a whole new situation there.