stetsonuniversitycollegeoflaw.docVIP

Stetson University College of Law 21st Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education Criminal Intrusions and Tort Liability -- How the Modern University Can Protect the Campus Community and Itself Steven J. Healy Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police, Wellesley College Introduction The landmark case, Mullins vs. Pine Manor College (389 Mass, 47, 449 N.E. 2d 331,1983), and several other high profile successful civil suits in the past two decades against colleges and universities have significantly altered the liability landscape for the higher education community. These cases show a direct link between the need for colleges and universities to maintain a professionally managed crime prevention program and the ability of an institution to protect its students and successfully reduce its liability for student victimization. Other events, too, have converged simultaneously on the field of institutional tort liability to drastically alter how campus administrators should view the security posture and programming of their institution. First is the increased willingness of victims (or their estates) of violent crimes to seek redress through the civil court system. According to a National Institute of Justice/Office for Victims of Crime bulletin, crime victims are turning more often to civil litigation as a financial means for recovering from the ill effects of crime. Civil litigation is often viewed as an important tool for victims of crime because it provides them with a chance to vindicate their rights, thus re-empowering them. Often, as a result of a criminal act, a victims life seems out of control. A civil court action can help a victim re-gain control of their life and assist them in putting their life back in balance. Civil litigation can also serve as a de facto crime prevention effort. When criminals or other negligent third parties (such as malls, colleges or universities) realize that they will be made to pay for their actio