Arming UPD will not make campus safer

Arming campus police is a disturbing proposition.

Research has shown that armed officers are more subject to gun violence and gun-inflicted suicide. Putting guns in the hands of campus police would not have prevented or interrupted the Virginia Tech incident because the shooter had barricaded the doors.

A review of the Hatchet’s crime log from Sept. 25 (“Crime Log,” p. B3) shows that campus police dealt with such highly dangerous incidents as a stolen bike, some kids smoking pot, a stumbling drunk, a vandalized car and someone throwing mud at University President Steven Knapp’s front door. The most serious incident was an unidentified man in New Hall, but officers with guns has been shown only to escalate such situations and to increase the injury to all involved.

Campus officials need to resist the rising tide of arming campus police. Is peer pressure a reason to put officers and students at risk?

Sharon Jones
Alumna