California colleges reveal their military weapons stockade after CalMatters investigation
The guide says campuses must post annual reports and use policies, and CalMatters found many 2025 filings lacked key inventory and cost details.
- CalMatters released a guide empowering student journalists to investigate campus police compliance with Assembly Bill 481, revealing widespread inconsistencies across California's 148 public college campuses.
- Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the 2021 law mandates that police departments post annual military equipment reports and use policies online, with governing bodies required to approve them at public meetings.
- An investigation by CalMatters found many 2025 reports lacked essential details like inventory quantities and annual costs, while over 40 community colleges failed to file a report or hold required public forums.
- Following inquiries, Compton College President Keith Curry implemented corrective action plans to ensure compliance, and student journalists are now using the guide to audit their own campus police websites.
- Student groups, including those at UCLA, continue to challenge the militarization of campus policing, as CalMatters encourages student news organizations to report their findings and foster ongoing accountability.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Associated Press News
California colleges reveal their military weapons stockade after CalMatters investigation
For many public colleges and universities in California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry — AR-15s, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness and sonic weapons that resonate so loudly they are known in the armed forces as the voice of God.
California colleges forced to disclose armories — some have military-grade weapons including the ‘Voice of God’
A CalMatters investigation found California campus police own AR-15-style rifles, flash grenades and LRAD sonic devices, while many schools failed to comply with state transparency laws.
Palo Alto Online
How student journalists can report on the military weapons on your campus
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Did you know that police tools like less-lethal weapons, flying camera drones and non-standard semi automatic rifles are subject to public oversight in California, even for campus police departments at colleges and universities? In fact, according to state law, the only way that […]
For many community colleges and universities in California, maintaining security on their campuses involves military-grade weaponry: AR-15 rifles, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness, and sonic weapons that resonate with such force that in the armed forces they are known as “the voice of God.”
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