The issue has spread from Campbell, Pfeiffer, and Davidson to Duke. As reported in the Durham Herald-Sun, two days ago the North Carolina Appeals Court ruled that Davidson College police could not make arrests. According to the court, police power is the prerogative of the state and cannot be assigned to a religious entity. Davidson is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
Now, Duke, of all places, is being labeled as a religious school, and a few of its police department?s arrests are likely to be challenged. Campbell University and Pfeiffer University already must pay their local police to serve as campus cops. (Perhaps a public choice analysis is appropriate here, with an emphasis on the expansion of government power.)
