UNC requests jurisdiction of fraternity houses following December drug bust
The town of Chapel Hill plans to consider a request to extend jurisdiction for the UNC Police Department to the fraternity houses near campus.
The move is likely guided by a drug bust linked to several UNC fraternities in December that drew national attention.
Supporting documents show that the school wants jurisdiction over them following the bust. Twenty-one people were dealt federal drug trafficking charges, and prosecutors said at least 11 of them are believed to be current or former students at Appalachian State University, Duke University or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
George Battle, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and Risk Management, will present the recommendation in a town meeting on Wednesday night.
None of those charged were current students, according to UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
"The informal relationship between our respective law enforcement agencies has been amendable to enforcing the university's COVID-19 standards. However, given the recent federal allegations of drug trafficking by former students who were also residents of the town, I believe that a more formal relationship is necessary," Guskiewicz wrote in a letter to Mayor Pam Hemminger.
Currently, UNC police lack enforcement jurisdiction over private properties off-campus, such as fraternity and sorority houses.
The U.S. Department of Justice found "the distribution of hard drugs was pervasive in and around certain fraternities." Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi were mentioned in court documents.
The charters for the Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities have been revoked. The Kappa Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta and Beta Theta Pi fraternities are suspended.
