EUGENE — The University of Oregon now has a police department — but still without guns.
The university said Monday it is changing the name of the agency from the Department of Public Safety to the University of Oregon Police Department.
It calls the renaming a small step in a transition that could take six years. Earlier this year, the Legislature approved a campus police department.
University officers carry batons, pepper spray and restraints. Eugene police step in when firearms are called for — transporting prisoners, for example. The university says it won’t arm its officers until there’s “a broad campus discussion" this academic year.
The department now has 27 uniformed officers — 11 sworn police officers and 16 public safety officers, whose authority is not so wide-ranging as the Eugene police.
