With recent gun-related crimes reported in the university area, many students ask themselves whether Syracuse University Department of Public Safety officers are equipped to respond to all calls they receive.

And if not, what should SU do about it?

Marlene Hall, director of Public Safety, said the issue of arming Public Safety officers has come up, and the community must realize that if officers are unarmed, they cannot effectively respond to every situation in and around campus.

“We have to go with how the community feels,” Hall said. ”But the community needs to understand what we can and cannot do.”

Several universities already have armed officers on campus, including Northwestern University, Boston University and Vanderbilt University, where Hall served as head of the crime prevention division until she accepted her current job at SU. According to U.S. Department of Education crime statistics, SU has had a crime rate comparable to that of the other three universities from 1998 to 2000, but is the only one without armed Public Safety or police officers.

Daniel McAleer, assistant chief of Northwestern University Police Department, said it was essential for his officers to carry a side arm because of the location of one campus of Northwestern within Chicago and the other located in the first suburb north of Chicago.

“I don’t see how we could be a police force here on campus without a gun,” McAleer said.

McAleer said officers at Northwestern attend the police academy and are well-trained in how and when to use their guns.

Pat Cunningham, captain in the Vanderbilt Police Department agreed with McAleer. He said his officers have carried handguns for all 22 years he has worked at Vanderbilt. He added that SU’s Public Safety officers should also carry guns.

“It’s part of having the tools we are trained in and the tools for the job,” he said.

But Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire, director of the community policing unit at BU, cautioned against SU making any rash decisions.

St. Hilaire said because of the relationship between the university and the Syracuse Police Department, Public Safety officers do not need to carry guns, and warned that universities arming officers often results in a “knee-jerk reaction” by the school. He added the importance of universities not overreacting and creating a lockdown-type atmosphere on campus. The university’s first priority is the students’ quality of life.

“Crime is a lot of perception,” he said.”There is no one particular answer to keeping safe.”

Officers at BU carry guns but are trained as Suffolk County Deputy Sherrifs, St. Hilaire added.

Deputy Chief of Public Safety William D. Ferguson said the arming of Public Safety officers could happen quickly because of the New York State Security Guard Act, but if the department increased its authority to peace officers, it would require legislation. A peace officer, one step down from a police officer, allows for the execution of arrest warrants and consentual searches, which Public Safety officers cannot do. Unlike police officers, however, peace officers or Public Safety officers would apply for a pistol permit in New York state to carry a gun.

The issues surrounding the addition of weapons Public Safety officers will carry are being reviewed, but there are no set plans in place, said Eleanor Ware senior vice president for Human Services and Government Relations at SU.

“The university’s attorneys tell me that the pistol permit provision in New York state law allows New York residents to apply for a license to obtain and carry a handgun, and there is nothing in New York state law that prohibits a Public Safety officer from applying for such a license as a private citizen,” Ware said. “The implications and risks associated with a Public Safety officer carrying a handgun as a private citizen and other related issues are being reviewed by our attorneys.”

Ware said Public Safety officers currently carry pepper spray and batons, and are safe when responding to calls.

Brian Jagoda, a junior broadcast journalism major, said he would favor the measure if proper training occurred.

“It can’t hurt as long as they are properly trained and only use it when it’s necessary,” he said.

Sophomore Hilary Rosenberg said Public Safety does a fine job and campus is safe.

“I think I would be so scared if they had guns,” said Rosenberg, an education major.

Ferguson said it is important to consider what tools Public Safety officers need to do their job.

“Officers are in favor of the tools necessary to do the job,” Ferguson said.”There is too much emphasis on what the tool is.”

Published on October 28, 2002 at 12:00 pm