CalMatters Investigation Finds Gaps in Campus Police Military Equipment Reporting

CalMatters reported that numerous California public colleges and universities have not fully followed a 2021 state law requiring annual reports, inventories, and public forums on military equipment held by campus police. The investigation covered the California Community Colleges, University of California, and California State University systems.

Several departments produced reports only after CalMatters inquiries.

UC Berkeley published its equipment list on April 7, 2026, after four requests, even though the UC Board of Regents had approved the report in September 2025. San Jose State University and San Francisco State University own AR-15s despite Cal State policy not authorizing them. San Jose State classifies the rifles as specialized firearms in its report.

CalMatters compiled an inventory showing hundreds of semi-automatic rifles, thousands of munitions containing the same chemical as chili peppers, and hundreds of thousands of rifle munitions across the institutions. Over 25 public colleges own semi-automatic rifles. More than 40 community colleges told CalMatters they did not file a report.

UCLA police deployed long-range acoustic devices 71 times during the 2024-25 school year for crowd management. The devices can produce 160 decibels. Cal State Monterey Bay’s 2025 report lists three camera drones owned by its Emergency Management team.

San Jose State University owns 33 tear gas grenades and a submachine gun not authorized under Cal State policy. Captain Jermaine Thomas said the department plans to destroy both items. “We will never use them,” he said.

Compton College approved a Corrective Action Plan on March 16, 2026, adopted an official policy in April, held a community meeting in May, and reviewed an annual use report in June. President Keith Curry said the process reminded officials to build transparency with the campus community. El Camino College held its 2025 forum in a gymnasium with about 30 attendees.