Campus & Company Police Officer Certification

Campus and Company police agencies are a vital part of the criminal justice system. Campus and Company police help enforce laws on private and public school property, at public hospitals, at shopping centers, apartment complexes and office buildings, and even on golf courses and recreational lakes. These agencies and their officers may by law provide the same police services within their territorial jurisdiction as do municipal law enforcement officers in North Carolina.

Under Chapter 74E of the North Carolina General Statutes, the Attorney General is given the authority to certify an agency as a company police agency and to commission an individual as a company police officer. For campus police officers, the applicable general statute is found in Chapter 74G.

A public or private educational institution or hospital, a state institution, or a corporation engaged in providing on-site police security personnel services may apply to be certified as a campus or company police agency. A campus or company police agency may also apply to commission an individual designated by that agency to act as a campus or company police officer.

Minimum Requirements for Officer Certification

To be commissioned as a campus or company police officer, an individual must meet the minimum standards required for employment and certification as a law enforcement officer in North Carolina, as described in 12 NCAC 09B .0101 and 12 NCAC 09B .0111, including completion of the Basic Law Enforcement Training course required of any other officer.The officer will then receive law enforcement certification from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission. The Campus and Company Police Program also requires that officers be examined on the law and administrative rules governing campus and company police.

Every law enforcement officer employed by an agency in North Carolina shall:

Be a citizen of the United States.
Be at least 20 years of age.
Be a high school graduate or have passed the General Educational Development Test indicating high school equivalency.
Be of good moral character.
Have successfully completed Basic Law Enforcement Training and passed the BLET state exam. (If you are currently an officer in another state, please see the section on Out-of-State Transfers.)
Satisfactorily complete the employing agency’s in-service firearms training program.
Not have committed or been convicted of:
- A felony.
- A crime for which the punishment could have been imprisonment for more than two years.
- A crime or unlawful act defined as a “Class B misdemeanor” within the five-year period prior to the date of application for employment.
- Four or more crimes or unlawful acts defined as “Class B misdemeanors” regardless of the date of conviction.
- Four or more crimes or unlawful acts defined as “Class A misdemeanors” except the applicant may be employed if the last conviction occurred more than two years prior to the date of application for employment.
Have been fingerprinted and a search made of local, state, and national files to disclose any criminal record.
Have been examined and certified by a licensed physician or surgeon to meet physical requirements necessary to properly fulfill the officer’s particular responsibilities and shall have produced a negative result on a drug screen.
Have been administered a psychological screening examination by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist licensed to practice in North Carolina or by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist authorized to practice in accordance with the rules and regulations of the United States Armed Forces within one year prior to employment by the employing agency to determine the officer’s mental and emotional suitability to properly fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
Have been interviewed personally by the Department head or a representative or representatives, to determine such things as the applicant’s appearance, demeanor, attitude, and ability to communicate.
Notify the Standards Division of all criminal offenses which the officer is arrested for or charged with, pleads no contest to, pleads guilty to or is found guilty of. This shall include all criminal offenses except minor traffic offenses and shall specifically include any offense of Driving Under The Influence (DUI) or Driving While Impaired (DWI). A minor traffic offense is defined as an offense where the maximum punishment allowable by law is 60 days or less.

Documentation of Criminal Charges:

When an applicant has a criminal record, he/she must list ALL charges, regardless of the disposition or the date of the charge, on the Personal History Statement and the Report of Appointment / Application for Certification. Even if a charge was dismissed by the court or the district attorney, it still must be listed under the Criminal Offense Record section of these forms.

Every charge listed must be accompanied by true/certified copies of the warrant for arrest, citation/magistrate’s order, etc. and the court disposition/judgment. This documentation may be obtained from the Clerk of Court’s Office in the county in which the applicant was criminally charged.

Failure to list ALL charges may result in denial of certification, or suspension/revocation of an existing certification.

Once officially sworn in, the campus or company police officer receives his or her commission from the Attorney General and will be regulated by the Campus and Company Police Program. This commission gives a campus or company police officer the same power as other sworn law enforcement officers to make arrests and to charge for infractions, subject to strict territorial jurisdiction limitations.

For more information, please contact the Campus and Company Police Administrator Randy Munn at the Criminal Justice Standards Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice for more information at (919) 661-5980.