Police officers at Indiana colleges and universities could have the same authority as city and county officers under a bill introduced in the General Assembly.

Republican Rep. Randy Truitt of West Lafayette says lawmakers need to remove jurisdictional obstacles that prevent local law enforcement officials from tapping resources available within university police departments.

Indiana law limits police powers for campus officers to their respective schools. That means campus officers can't stop an impaired driver off campus or loan resources such as drug-sniffing dogs to city and county departments without fearing it could jeopardize a case, police officials say.

Purdue University Police Chief John Cox said eliminating those barriers is a matter of common sense.

"I'm a sworn officer, I graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy," Cox told the Journal & Courier. "If I'm working and going down I-65 and get behind a driver who I suspect is impaired, I need to be able to pull that person over."
http://www.ibj.com/bill-would-expand-powers-of-campus-police-officers/PARAMS/article/25130