Shippensburg University, Shippensburg Township and Shippensburg Borough each have police who are trying to serve and protect the citizens who reside in the area. There are three different departments that cover and have limited jurisdictions that prevent them from patrolling in a certain area.
The Carlisle barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police covers Shippensburg Township. Shippensburg University’s Department of Public Safety polices the university, and the Shippensburg Borough Police Department covers the borough. Each department is limited in what it is allowed to cover. State legislation allows the Shippensburg University police to act outside the campus jurisdiction limits under specific conditions.
The campus police act on the university and investigate all incidents dealing with criminal activity and are allowed to coordinate with outside agencies or other police departments if the law is being broken. They are the police that only patrol the Shippensburg campus, issuing parking tickets or investigating other illegal or criminal actions. If there is criminal activity off campus, the Shippensburg University safety department can work with local law enforcement agencies — the borough police and the state police — that have jurisdiction in areas surrounding the campus.
Shippensburg University police are required to report monthly crime statistics to the Pennsylvania State Police. Some of the crime stats include: use in uniform crime report, arrest information for offenses as required by state criminal history record and retention laws. They still must enforce Shippensburg University laws as well as complying with the regular federal, state and local laws. If the borough and state police arrest or take action on criminal incidents involving Shippensburg students who reside within the borough or township, they report the incident to the university police department.
The Shippensburg Borough Police Department only covers the borough. It does not have any other jurisdiction outside of the borough. Borough police cannot go as far as Walnut Bottom Road because that would be considered Carlisle State police jurisdiction. The borough police also cannot go as far as the road to Interstate 81. Anything outside that jurisdiction is considered to be the Pennsylvania State Police patrolling area.
The other police departments that roam the area of Shippensburg are the state police who can work with other law enforcement agencies to protect residents. The state police troopers who patrol the area are from the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Carlisle. They only have jurisdiction over Shippensburg Township, not the campus or Shippensburg borough. In addition to Shippensburg Township, state police troopers patrol several neighboring townships including Monroe, Hopewell, Penn as well as many others.
The purpose of the police jurisdictions is to cover every part of the Shippensburg area, the borough, the township and campus. Each police officer his or her jurisdiction to make sure there is no illegal activity and criminal activities occurring. The purpose of every patrolling officer is to comply with the law and keep the residents of Shippensburg safe.
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