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E-PrincePublic Safety officers who have been sworn in as police officers may soon be carrying firearms on campus, if the Fraternal Orders of Police (FOP), the labor union that represents Princeton University police officers, gets its way.
“The best-trained people ...
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Not having armed officers on campus is asking for trouble. If we're going to hire sworn police officers, we might as well give them the tools to do their job properly. Ridiculous not to.
The key quote from the article is:
“Students think that Public Safety officers just deal with students all day, but it’s a very open campus where anybody can walk on,” Westrol explained.
The public safety web site talks about "authorized visitors," but fails to acknowledge that so very many events on campus are billed as "free and open to the public."
This issue came up in William Paterson University in the 1980s and other colleges. Putting aside the obvious phalic implications of having an unarmed campus police force, the idea has merit only if university police subject themselves to the same psychological tests and police training that qualifies other police. Campuses have become dangerous places -- and if police are to be more than just glorified security guards, they need to be trained and armed.
Ms. Harvey's idea that arming police officers would dissuade those in need from seeking out help is ludicrous at best. At its worst, it is reactionary and closed-minded. That sort of attitude is exactly the kind of backwards thinking that may get someone seriously hurt on campus. It is high time the bureaucracy looked outside the “orange bubble” and acknowledged the real world. Furthermore, I’m left questioning whether she is even the correct person for this job, since her qualifications are obviously lacking. I would hope that the “General Manager for Safety” would have an iota of common sense.
Our 15 sworn officers who would be armed under this plan have received the same training as any other local police force. If they were to quit their jobs here they could immediately be hired in Princeton Township and be armed.
Considering the current crime rate in Princeton, (http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locI...), I don't think we need anymore armed officers in the area. An exercise in redundancy? The borough cops are like five feet away.
Meg B, it only takes one person to harm another, regardless of how many or how few people have committed crimes in that area before him. Also, crimes and gang activity have been on the rise in Princeton. Check the FBI for more recent crime statistics. In 2006, 37 violent crimes were reported in Princeton. The gang members caught in the act of robbing university buildings (http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/...) were members of the gang MS-13, which is one of the most "fearless" gangs in the country, and they show little respect for police officers (whether or not they are armed). Do a Prince search on assaults or gangs and then tell me there's no violent crime on campus.
Also, while Borough cops may be close, do you think they could navigate Firestone levels A-C as a shooter roams through? Could they figure out which lecture halls connect to McCosh 50? How about the various underground pathways that connect different buildings, like Fine/Jadwin/McDonnell, or LTL and Schultz? What about the extra people a shooter could kill during those few extra minutes while Borough police respond and figure out how to even get to the person? Leave it to the experts on the campus: Princeton University's own Public Safety Police Officers.
Fine. Arm a few public safety guys to respond to armed threats. If the guys who respond to parties in dorms are packing.... that doessn't look good to those of us who write checks to the endowment. Tread carefully.
I'm not against police officers having guns, but I've never been particularly impressed with the competence of Public Safety...I sure hope they have enough training. I'm assuming they would only brandish their firearms in life-or-death situations. It would be an outrage (and against regulations, I assume) for them to militarize campus...