Of all the police reported incidents that took place between 2015 - 2018 on the University of Guelph's Campus, a large number pertained to either mental health crises, hate crimes, drugs or alcohol. The University of Guelph’s Campus Community Police (CCP) has proven to the students at UofG that they are unfit or unwilling to properly support the community, as many incidences that caused students harm have been dealt with inappropriately. The CCP, board of directors, the Dean, and the President have failed students at the university by not disciplining those who have harmed or have done harm, and have not provided adequate support to victims.

The current university budget for the 26 member CCP is 2.793 million dollars. Of this budget, 98% is allocated to salary and benefits, while 2% is allocated to operating expenses. In comparison, only a little over 1 million dollars are spent on counselling services, and a total of $878,622 is spent on cultural and diversity initiatives, LGBTQ2IA+ supports, and support for international students combined. The CCP attends 47 conferences annually, and there is no training related to anti-oppression or implicit biases; only one course covers mental health issues. The CCP should not be attending these calls, as they do not have the training required to respond to these circumstances.

We call for the CCP to be defunded, and for police presence on campus to be reduced significantly, with the ultimate goal of the abolishment of the CCP by 2022. The university must immediately cut 50% of the CCP’s budget while redirecting these funds to other entities on campus that are better equipped to take on the duties that the CCP officers are unfit to. Incidents such as responding to mental health crises, sexual assaults, or physical assault emergencies should not be handled by the CCP.  Examples of the entities that can take over these responsibilities include counselling services, minority groups, the cultural diversity office, and LGBTQ2IA+ supports, as they are adequately trained to support those facing these crises. The funds that are to be redistributed should additionally go towards hiring a team of individuals who work with restorative and transformative justice. 

By defunding the CCP, the University of Guelph needs to prioritize providing better support for students. Alternative student-led services on campus must be created for use in the case of an emergency. The University of Guelph needs to convene a student-led working group to reimagine and develop an alternative safety model that addresses campus safety needs and concerns. This workgroup has to include the voices and perspectives of all special status groups on campus. Any officer that remains stationed on campus must be heavily trained to the point of subconscious action on the issues that minorities, those with disabilities, or otherwise marginalized or oppressed people face when in contact with police officers. All of the issues mentioned above must be covered in police training modules.  

There are examples of action being taken locally and more broadly towards the abolishment of campus police. In May 2020, the University of Minnesota has taken action with the following two directives:

1. “No longer contract with the Minneapolis Police Department for additional law enforcement support needed for large events, such as football games, concerts, and ceremonies”
2. “No longer use the Minneapolis Police Department when specialized services are needed for University events, such as K-9 explosion detection units”

On June 4th, Ryerson University listened to their students by deciding to cancel the Special Constable's Program. Instead, the school intends to strike a working group to consult with students, faculty and staff to work towards an alternative safety and security model. In addition, on June 22, 2020, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) voted to terminate their police liaison program effectively removing the officers from their school grounds. 

The University of Guelph needs to commit to defunding, reducing, and eventually abolishing the CCP within two years’ time.