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E-PrinceFriday will mark the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy. This occasion gives colleges across the country the chance to reflect on the incident and consider the best ways to ensure student safety in the future. To this end ...(back to the article)
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Kudos, Daily Princetonian.
Oh not this again! If I recall, didn't it take Public Safety an hour longer than Boro Police to respond? In any case, this is irrelevant -- only someone with a previous agenda would claim that the appropriate response to a toy assault rifle is to stock up with real assault rifles.
Let's be very clear. Princeton is as safe a town as you will ever find. The last murder, according to Dept. of Justice statistics that I posted last time the Prince brought up this silliness, was in the mid-80's. We have a local police department that is famously known for being underworked, and is -- almost literally for those with a good arm -- a stone's throw from campus. In such an environment, arming public safety is unnecessary.
But what's the downside, people ask? After all, better safe than sorry? Not necessarily. There is a tradeoff between safety measures and a general atmosphere of authoritarianism. I would never claim that having Public Safety toting M16s (which they have repeatedly advocated in the comments, btw) means that they are more likely to "gun down" unarmed students. But how would you feel if they responded to your noise complaint brandishing assault rifles? After all, they need to take precautions -- you could be a mass murderer -- so they should bring them along, just in case. And they can't exactly put a four-foot long gun down their pants so as to be discreet about it...
Now think, would that make you feel better or worse about public safety, and would that tend to improve or worsen the relationship between public safety and the student body?
Everybody wants to be safe, this is completely understandable, and I respect those that are advocating for this as being well-intentioned. But it is a sad [admittedly clichéd] fact that such intentions pave a certain road...
The greatest sign of maturity is to respond rationally and thoughtfully even in difficult situations. Arming public safety is an irrational response that is unbecoming of such a great university.
The time lag for the Public Safety response was one hour, far longer than the few minutes it took Borough Police to arrive. We have to weigh the potential benefits against the risk of an accidental weapons discharge, which I view as the greater threat.
I don't support arming public safety but think there should at least be an open discussion. However, it's just false to say that it took public safety an hour to respond. They, along with the borough police, responded within a few minutes. It was the notification of the campus community to the threat which was inexcusably delayed by roughly 80 minutes.
Likelihood of there being an incident dangerous enough that psafe needed to use firepower and borough police were inadequate: very slim
Likelihood that someone walking home from the street saturday night thinks it would be funny to try to take an officer's pistol out of his belt and gets a bullet through the leg: a lot higher
2010:
The last part of your comment seems focused towards what you think of intoxicated Princeton University students. It almost makes it seem that you think Princeton University students are not intelligent enough to understand why police officers carry firearms.. to protect themselves and the community. Using your logic, police officers that go near the "street" should not be armed in order to protect drunk students... from themselves.
no
If they want guns, give us guns too.
What are you defining as "response"? The phone call went to Public Safety and they alerted the Borough at the same time as they began their own procedures. Borough Police were the first "on the scene" but that doesn't necessarily imply they "responded" faster than PSafe - more likely, PSafe asked the BoPo to go to the scene while they continue their own procedures
@cdecoro: i will take a shit on my own bed if any american college armed its campus police with assault rifles to investigate a noise complaint stemming from a drinking party. straw fucking man.
@2010: if you're drunk and walk into a wall you deserve it. if you're drunk and crash your bike you deserve it. if you're drunk and tell the starting left tackle that his mother likes it up the behind and he beats you senseless you deserve it. if you're drunk and try to take a handgun from the PO-lease and get shot in the leg... that's right kiddos, you deserve it