Some higher education campuses are moving toward an armed security force, at least partly as a result of the Virginia Tech shootings. Nice solution to the problem, but it did not help at Virginia Tech which had a sworn and armed campus police force. As in most of these campus shooting rampages, the suspect took his own life before police arrived on the scene.
Buz thinks most schools would be better off, and save a lot of money, if they did not introduce firearms to their security force. The cost and the risks are enormous--unless you are in a high crime area, and have a fairly large number of officers working as backup.
On the other hand, there are schools which should have armed police officers and don't. They don't because of philosphical objections or want to play the game of using off-duty police officers--so any liability gets thrown on the local jurisdiction where the officer is employed.
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Is it safe to assume that liability is the big issue that universities worry about when it comes to arming their security officers? I always found it a bit odd that the HopCops at JHU didn't carry, seeing as how they're in good old B'more.
Yes, I think liability is a big issue--along with the fact that they really don't want to pay for having real, armed campus police officers. While Hopkins at Homewood pays its officers reasonably well, the vast majority of them, perhaps 70%, are retired city offiers. While valuble in their knowledge and skill, most would no longer be a match in a wrestling tussle for that gun with a street thug. However, that is one of the schools that I think should have armed officers, but don't.
The situation is even worse at the East Baltimore campus where they rely on their cadre of off-duty police and sheriffs, instead of hiring their own armed campus officers. The city gets to eat liability and "bad press" if something happens, not JHU. However, off-duty police are notoriously unreliable as to when they will show up, how long they'll stay, or even if they will show up.
I believe that Hopkins has started using off-duty cops at the Homewood campus as well, or at least they did for a while a few years back after Linda Trinh was murdered.
Hopkins uses off-duty cops to supplement their security presence in Charles Villlage next to Homewood's campus. Usually 2 on foot, sometimes a third in one of their cars--in the neighborhoods just east of the campus.
One of our local yokels was charged with Linda's murder, and Hopkins now owns the building where she died, with 100% security on duty.
However, the murder of the fraternity brother at SAE's building, 2938 St. Paul Street is still unsolved. I believe on of the off-duty footposts extends down to 30th Street--the northern side of that building.
"However, the murder of the fraternity brother at SAE's building, 2938 St. Paul Street is still unsolved. I believe on of the off-duty footposts extends down to 30th Street--the northern side of that building."
Yeah, the Chris Elser murder. That case made it onto America's Most Wanted, and apparently there's a videotape of the guy who they're fairly certain is the killer, but the tape makes it impossible to ID him.
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