Michigan Ends Use of Private Security to Surveil Students

The University of Michigan has canceled its contracts with private security firms hired to surveil pro-Palestinian student groups on campus, The Detroit News reported.

The move came days after The Guardian published an account of UM students being stalked and harassed by plainclothes agents. One student recorded footage of a man following him who faked a disability and then accused the student of trying to rob him. Another said he had to jump out of the way when a car drove directly at him in a university parking lot.

“We recently learned that an employee of one of our security contractors has acted in ways that go against our values and directives,” Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso wrote in a message to the campus community. “What happened was disturbing, unacceptable, and unethical, and we will not tolerate it.”

UM was the site of an active pro-Palestinian encampment last year and heated, sometimes violent protests, which resulted in arrests.

“In July of 2024, as part of our security strategy, it was decided to augment our organic resources with outside firms to use plainclothes security personnel—a common approach for large, high-traffic areas such as hospitals, sports venues, shopping malls, and college campuses,” Grasso wrote. “These individuals were intended to help us keep watch over our campus and enable us to respond quickly to emergencies. However, we are clear: no individual or group should ever be targeted for their beliefs or affiliations.”

“Going forward, we are terminating all contracts with external vendors to provide plainclothes security on campus.”