The fact that the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety lost four shotguns and failed to disclose the incident for several months reflects poorly on Syracuse University at a time when the public’s trust in law enforcement is already at a cultural low-point.

The four unloaded 12-gauge shotguns have still not been recovered after having fallen out of a DPS truck following a training exercise in October 2015, DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado said in a statement. The firearms were reported missing to the New York State Police barracks after DPS officers noticed that the truck’s tailgate had fallen down when they stopped for lunch in Elbridge, New York, according to CNYCentral.

The errors in both action and judgment regarding the loss of these firearms are a blemish on the university’s perception of campus safety services. Apart from the frustration that stems from the failure to properly secure the firearms in the first place, DPS’s clumsy handling of the incident is only amplified by the fact that the university community is finding out about the mistake more than three months after the weapons were lost.

DPS should have released the news soon after the shotguns were reported missing. The community should always be made aware of these situations, one of the only exceptions being that stating the information itself would pose a threat to the safety of students, staff and faculty. Even in cases where the incident should be kept private for a period of time, one week is acceptable, but not three months.

Waiting as long as DPS did fuels speculation on a sensitive topic, especially in the city of Syracuse where gun violence is not unheard of. And while the shotguns were reportedly lost about 20 miles away from the SU campus, the lapse in protocol contributes to public hesitance to have genuine confidence in law enforcement when there is still not a lead as to whose hands these university-owned, and most likely tuition-bought, weapons are in.

It is understood that DPS notified state police forces, retraced the truck’s route and the situation is currently considered an open investigation. But the way in which this failure was addressed on a local basis is concerning. If any form of this oversight were to happen in the future, although proper procedure should effectively prevent it, DPS should notify the university community immediately rather than leave students, faculty and staff in the dark.

If the Department of Public Safety is going to operate as a community policing body, it should understand the importance of maintaining communication with the community it’s policing.