Gil Harrington, mother of the late Morgan Harrington, visited the University last Thursday in support of House Bill 2490, a piece of legislation which would require oversight of murder and rape investigations on college campuses in Virginia to be transferred to the appropriate local police departments. The bill made it out of subcommittee last year and was referred to the Virginia State Crime Commission by the House Militia and Public Safety Committee in the Virginia House of Delegates.
The commission will have the opportunity to research and review the law and then may propose language for a bill to go back to the committee, said Del. Paula Miller, D-Norfolk.
Under current law, campus police have the authority to investigate felony cases that occur on campus, including rape and murder cases. The proposed legislation would make "the local law-enforcement agency ... assume responsibility for leading the investigation," the bill says.
"[The University Police Department] is responsible for the investigation of criminal incidents that occur on University property," University Police Lt. Melissa Fielding said in an email. "UPD has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the Charlottesville and Albemarle Police Departments ... Shift supervisors and officers collaborate almost daily."
Despite these efforts, Harrington believes campus police should cede its authority to local law enforcement.
"The murder of our daughter made us look at the issue more closely," Harrington said.
Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student, was killed two years ago after leaving John Paul Jones Arena at the University during a concert, Her case, Gil Harrington said, was very quickly transferred to the state police. "We happened to benefit from that decision," Harrington said of the immediate case transfer to state police.
Kathryn Russell, who alleges she was raped in Hench Dormitory in 2004, had her case handled directly by the University Police. Her mother, Susan Russell, the driving force behind the bill, said "the campus police failed to do their job" in conducting the investigation for her daughter's case.
Susan Russell said her daughter approached the Dean of Students Office for assistance and was turned away four times. Russell also said University Police "failed to take forensics," making the case impossible for the Commonwealth Attorney's Office to prosecute. The incident eventually led Susan Russell to reach out to Miller, who brought the bill to the Virginia House of Delegates.
The legislation is based on "Robbie's Law," a bill passed in Tennessee after Robbie Nottingham was killed at college. The campus police at East Tennessee State University were alleged to have mishandled the investigation involving Nottingham's case.
With respect to University Police, Miller expressed an appreciation for their proficiency, but she emphasized the bill's relevance to other universities in the state that do not have large enough staffs.\n"Some [campus police] departments ... are just too small" to handle major rape and murder investigations because of inadequate training and experience, she said.
In the face of criticism, Fielding defended the aptitude of University Police staff, noting that the department's officers go through the same training as other local law enforcement officers.\n"The department works closely with departments within the University and Charlottesville communities to ensure the best possible service," Fielding said.
Still, Gil Harrington expressed a pressing need to reform such investigation proceedings throughout the entire state.
"Investigations need an outside group to avoid self-investigation and increase standardization," she said. "Any task that you do, you have to have some standardization."
Most of all, advocates of the bill recognized the need to redress the errors committed during past investigations, in an attempt to ensure justice in the future.
"[Susan Russell] felt that the campus police did not adequately investigate their case," Miller said. "[This bill] gives the victim some peace of mind"
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