CAMPUS Safety Act of 2012

The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety (referred to in this section as the Center).

The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to award grants to institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to assist in carrying out the functions of the Center required under subsection (b).

The Center shall—

(1) provide quality education and training for public safety personnel of institutions of higher education and their collaborative partners, including campus mental health agencies;

(2) foster quality research to strengthen the safety and security of institutions of higher education;

(3) serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and dissemination of information, policies, protocols, procedures, and best practices relevant to campus public safety, including off-campus housing safety, the prevention of violence against persons and property, and emergency response and evacuation procedures;

(4) coordinate with Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, State, local and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, private and nonprofit organizations and associations, and other stakeholders, to develop protocols and best practices to prevent, protect against and respond to dangerous and violent situations involving an immediate threat to the safety of the campus community;

(5) promote the development and dissemination of effective behavioral threat assessment and management models to prevent campus violence;

(6) identify campus safety information (including ways to increase off-campus housing safety) and identify resources available from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, and private and nonprofit organizations and associations;

(7) promote cooperation, collaboration, and consistency in prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among public safety and emergency management personnel of institutions of higher education and their campus- and non-campus-based collaborative partners, including law enforcement, emergency management, mental health services, and other relevant agencies;

(8) disseminate standardized formats and models for mutual aid agreements and memoranda of understanding between campus security agencies and other public safety organizations and mental health agencies; and

(9) report annually to Congress and the Attorney General on activities performed by the Center during the previous 12 months.

In establishing the Center, the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services shall—

(1) coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General of each State; and

(2) ensure coordination with campus public safety resources within the Department of Homeland Security, including within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Education.

In this section, the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

Funding for the implementation of this part shall be through the use of existing excess unobligated funds available to the Department of Justice or cost savings through consolidation of duplicative or ineffective programs within the Department of Justice as determined by the Attorney General.