Does Public Safety need guns?

The recent tragedies at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University have highlighted the need for colleges to have the means to effectively respond to all threats to campus safety. Recently, sworn Public Safety officers requested authorization from the administration to carry firearms for them to most effectively maintain campus safety. Supporters of the officers' request claim that increased gang-related crime in the Princeton area and the potential threat of an armed shooter on campus require arming Public Safety officers. Given the gravity of the potential consequences, the University should carefully consider the request before making a determination.

The Princeton community and the administration must consider whether arming Public Safety would be the most efficient way to maintain campus safety. Much of the campus discourse does not address this central question. For example, the perception among some students that Public Safety officers are ill trained and, if armed, would actually more endanger than improve student safety is decidedly a misperception that distracts us from the real issues at hand.

A careful study of the relationship between the Borough and Township police and Public Safety should be the basis for evaluating the utility of arming Public Safety officers even as armed Borough police already patrol the area around the Princeton campus. The study must also consider the potential negative consequences to the relationship between Public Safety and members of the campus community as a result of arming.

Arming Public Safety officers would be justified if it would decrease the response time to incidents requiring an armed response. If a lowered response time is deemed vital to campus safety, the University should also ensure that it cannot be more efficiently accomplished by requesting additional support from Borough and Township police. An additional justification for arming officers would be if their presence would significantly increase the effectiveness of such a response by Borough or Township police. Public Safety should also be armed if part of campus is ever classified as too dangerous for unarmed police officers to patrol.

It is imperative that Public Safety, the Borough and Township police, and the University work together to evaluate the current system for protecting campus safety in light of the serious concerns expressed by Public Safety officers. If the decision to arm Public Safety officers is made, it will be important for Public Safety to correct the misperception that Public Safety officers cannot handle such a responsibility and work to improve the relationship between the Public Safety and the Princeton community.