The Department of Public Safety's move to arm its 33-member police force last month appears to have gone smoothly, with little concern - or reaction whatsoever - from the College Hill community. This muted response differs markedly from reactions to the University's original announcement in December 2003 of its plan to arm, which sparked vocal concern from Brown community members, neighboring residents and local politicians.
"When we first announced the decision (to arm), I did receive some communications from parents and students - people who had lots of questions about the rationale for arming, why it was necessary and what had changed in Providence that made it necessary to arm the police, because a lot of people were just fundamentally opposed to having guns," said David Greene, vice president for campus life and student services.
But as of earlier this week, neither Greene nor Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter said he had received calls or e-mails from concerned parents, students or other College Hill community members since the arming went into effect on Jan. 11.
"No one's written me," Hunter said of the response to the e-mail President Ruth Simmons sent to the Brown community Jan. 11. He added that he does not remember any objections voiced at a Brown University Community Council meeting shortly before winter break, where he and Chief of Police Mark Porter gave a 40-minute presentation on the status of the preparation process.
"It's a serious matter, but I think people understand that we're doing this in the best interests of safety and in a way that's as careful as we can be," Hunter said. "Though I expect that we'll be getting some e-mails of support and opposition from people from inside and outside campus."
Evolution of the arming debate
The debate surrounding the arming of licensed DPS officers has existed at Brown since at least the early 1990s, when then-President Vartan Gregorian rejected several proposals to arm DPS officers. In 1998, DPS was the third police force in Rhode Island and the first in the Ivy League to gain accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. This accreditation gave DPS authority equal to that of any state police force.
In 2001, the University commissioned former New York City Chief of Police William Bratton - currently chief of the Los Angeles Police Department - to lead a study of campus safety at Brown. Bratton's report ultimately concluded that, among other increased safety measures, arming DPS officers was a necessary step to ensure the safety of the community.
Among Ivy League schools, Harvard and Yale universities and the University of Pennsylvania have armed campus police forces. Locally, Boston College and Boston University both have armed police forces, according to Greene.
In accordance with the findings of the Bratton report, Simmons made public the University's decision to arm officers in an e-mail to the Brown community in December 2003.
"Attention has been focused on (campus safety) due to real and perceived increases in crime on and around the campus," Simmons wrote in that e-mail.
The announcement to arm prompted the strongest objection from Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 and Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal.
In a letter to Simmons following the announcement, Cicilline wrote, "(Arming officers) will unnecessarily inject additional firearms into our city." He cited improvements to City Hall and the Providence Police Department made in the time since completion of the Bratton report as reasons to abandon the arming of DPS, according to a December 2003 Providence Journal article.
In fact, the December 2003 announcement of plans to arm DPS was originally delayed for over six months at Cicilline's request. During this time, PPD Chief Dean Esserman introduced a program of community policing on Brown's campus. This effort led to the opening of the PPD's Brook Street substation less than a block away from DPS headquarters, one of nine community-policing substations that opened about two years ago.
The University spent $70,000 to renovate the space for the substation and is leasing it to the city for free.
Though Hunter said he does not know if Cicilline still disagrees with the decision to arm licensed DPS officers, he praised cooperation among DPS, the PPD and city officials.
"The PPD and the city have been very professional and cooperative in helping us implement this ... I can't say enough good things," Hunter said.
For his part, Segal continues to question the rationale behind arming.
Segal said that he had anecdotal experience with community members being "exclusively and overwhelmingly" concerned about the prospect of an armed DPS and the introduction of more guns into the College Hill neighborhood.
"I'm skeptical that this will do anything to change crime rates," Segal said in a recent interview with The Herald. "Not that it's particularly terrible around campus right now. I just don't think (arming Brown police officers) will do anything (to enhance safety)."
