Permits non-sworn public safety officers/security guards at private colleges/universities to detain individuals for no longer than 30 minutes within the campus’s jurisdiction if the officer or guard believes the person committed a criminal offense.

Summary of RI Bill: Campus Security Detention Authority

This bill would give non-sworn public safety officers and security guards at private colleges and universities in Rhode Island a limited legal power to temporarily detain people on campus. Specifically, if a security guard believes someone has committed a crime, they could hold that person for up to 30 minutes while waiting for local police to arrive. Currently, private campus security guards generally do not have this legal authority, since they are not sworn law enforcement officers.

The bill would affect students, staff, visitors, and anyone else present on private college or university campuses in Rhode Island, as well as the security personnel who work there. Private colleges and universities themselves would also be impacted, since their security departments would gain a new tool for responding to potential criminal activity on campus. It's worth noting this would only apply to private institutions — not public colleges or state universities, which may already have different rules governing their campus police.

The 30-minute limit is meant to be a temporary hold only, not a full arrest. The detained person would need to be released or handed over to sworn law enforcement within that window. This is sometimes called a "detention" or "stop and hold" power, and it falls short of the full arrest powers that sworn police officers carry.

As of now, the bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and is scheduled for a hearing. The committee has recommended it be held for further study, meaning it has not yet moved forward in the legislative process.