Lawmakers in the Rhode Island State Senate will consider a bill by April 14 that would require approved University of Rhode Island campus police officers to carry firearms.
The bill, called "An Act Relating To Campus Security," has been introduced several times in the past but failed every time. Senators Michael Damiani (D-District 18), Joseph Polisena (D-District 25) and Susan Sosnowski (D-District 37) introduced the current incarnation of the bill Feb. 17.
Polisena said he believes the dangers of law enforcement necessitate that campus police officers be armed, so long as they are properly trained. "The way today's society is, what (officers) deal with, if they are qualified, they should be able to carry a weapon," he said. "I'm sure the streets are not as safe as they were 20 years ago. Also, with the situation on college campuses, where there's less respect for the law, campus police officers need some protection and an ability to protect students."
If the bill becomes law, approved officers would have to go through the Rhode Island Police Training Academy or its equivalent to receive arms.
However, URI President Robert Carothers has consistently opposed the bill arming campus police officers, said Andrea Hopkins, assistant vice president for public affairs. "We feel we have the best judgment to decide when our employees should have guns," she said. "We don't want it written in law."
Polisena said similar legislation has been discussed three or four times before in the General Assembly, but said he could not speculate on prospects for the bill this session. "The bill keeps failing on the House side; it's always passed on the Senate side," Polisena said. "I really don't know the chances of it passing - it's very difficult to tell from year to year."
Arming campus officers would only be one facet of a larger university effort to professionalize its police force, said URI Director of Police and Security Robert Drapeau. "The bill itself is a stand-alone item - it's not so much arming the department as making it as professional as possible," he said. "I think what's beneficial to URI is that we're undertaking an extensive program to work on our law enforcement facilities and resources."
Hopkins said the state Senate primarily views the bill as a safety measure that would protect both police officers and students. With the opening of the Ryan Center, a large recreational complex, at the Kingston campus, URI has become an open campus that attracts additional visitors not directly affiliated with the university, Hopkins said.
Despite being unwilling to support the bill, Carothers may consider arming URI officers independently. "Our president said in last year's speech while testifying for the same bill that we've been happy unarmed, and would like to continue to be unarmed, but we will have to take new circumstances into consideration," Hopkins said.
Brittany Boudreau, director of communications for the URI Student Senate, said polls have found the majority of students are opposed to arming campus police officers, though more favor it now than did a few years ago.
"It would make more sense for colleges in Providence," Boudreau, a sophomore, said. "But (our main campus is) in Kingston, and we're in the middle of nowhere, so I think most students feel it's not necessary."
Drapeau said there has not been any single incident that has spurred the introduction of the bill, but given URI's size and location, the potential for any type of incident is high.
"We have the same issues and crimes that could happen in your hometown," Drapeau said. "There are no specific incidents I could point to," he said.
Hopkins said the URI police department is currently working towards national accreditation, which Brown already has, and will attempt to arm their police force independently. But this process is very expensive and can take more than three years. Brown announced in Dec. 2003 that it would begin a process to arm Department of Public Safety officers.
URI has consulted Brown concerning the arming process, as well as other schools, Drapeau said. "Nationally, colleges have realized the necessity of a full-fledged police force," he said. "Frankly, Rhode Island is behind the curve in regards to campus law enforcement."
At Brown, administrators have declined to release a timetable for the arming process.
"The process is in place, it's moving along well, the training is going well," said Mark Nickel, director of the Brown News Service.
Every institution's police and security personnel face different circumstances, and factors such as Brown's easily accessible open campus made arming campus officers a good idea, Nickel said. "It's a very case-by-case basis," he said. "What makes sense for Brown doesn't necessarily make sense for other universities."
