UPD with Guns
The Hatchet is running with the headline today that the University is considering arming UPD officiers with big ol’ guns. While I have a very strong thoughts on this, I have a feeling that my opinion is widespread. GWPatriot writers aside, I think the majority of our campus might feel similarly about this. However, I want to see what everyone thinks before ranting about it.
Let me know if you think the campus would be safer if UPD was armed with guns. Have you always seen UPD act responsibly? Have you always seen them act in the favor of campus safety? What implications could this decision have?
[KIRK EDIT: Unlike Travis, I don't much care to see what everyone else thinks before I tell you what I think. ( isn't that what we're supposed to do?! This is a blog!) Here goes:
UPD SHOULDN'T HAVE GUNS. I don't support my statement on the same grounds as this picture: 
END]
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
If they do this, you should look into graduating early.
In all seriousness though, I think a better plan would be to just arm the STUDENTS. Duh. Remember when g-town gave out ipods to their incoming freshmen? GW could SO top that now that DC gun laws have relaxed.
They’re licensed police officers. They’re allowed to have guns.
That being said, their duties are mostly cleaning up after drunk kids and not looking into petty crimes. I can’t remember a single case of a shooting on campus. Thus, I don’t think it’s a problem of not trusting the officers, but rather seeing them armed as unnecessary.
That, and you know what Commissioner Gordon said about escalation in “Batman Begins.” The last thing this campus needs is more leggings.
I agree with Dom. It’s not that UPD officers can’t be trusted with them. It’s just a question of whether or not they actually need them. I think arming UPD officers will only make students more resentful of UPD. Most people who have been busted at a party have experienced a UPD officer being a douche bag because he or she just saved the world by stopping 20 19 year olds from getting any drunker. Put a gun on their hip, and I think it has the potential to make the dickhead officers more dickish and make students who already resent or are intimidated by UPD even more resentful or intimidated. I think a student body that is intimidated, suspicious, or resentful of the part of the University responsible for protecting them isn’t the greatest thing for any university to have going on.
not only do UPD officers not need guns, but if something seriously shitty goes down there is an entire well trained, heavily armed, and ruthlessly efficient army located at a few blocks away at 1600 penn. it’s called the US secret service. they send agents to the scene when the fire alarm went off at mitchell hall, can you imagine what they would do if some whacko was walking around campus with a gun? i already feel very well protected. putting a few more guns on the street, albeit in the hands of trained police officers, makes me more uneasy if anything.
Lock and Load.
UPD should have guns, students should have guns, and concealed carry should be legal.
DO IT TO IT.
Kiernan, I couldn’t agree more.
I remember playing Halo II with a ‘kid’ who also happened to be a UPD officer in my freshman dorm. The thought of him, of any of them, armed with handguns is absurd. The only plausible argument for arming our UP would be to prevent a Virginia Tech style attack here on campus. And honestly if something like that did go down, the last people I want in a firefight with me caught in the middle would be our university police officers, a step up from shopping mall security guards.
The UPD should stick to what it does best: emailing me crime alerts about crimes you didn’t prevent and riding your bikes on the sidewalk, which I should add, is against the law.
I’m not sure why I added that last part.
Travis,
I’m (almost) your biggest fan. (Keep in mind you compete with Darren, Kirk, and Kevin for my affection.)
As such, I thank you for taking my comment.
I think this conversation merits SERIOUS consideration by the administration. Dolores is an extremely competant (and well-liked) administrator by many (across the GW campus) - people should have faith in her leadership.
There are larger campus security issues that students aren’t always aware of - or think about. The sheer presence of an armed officer in many of these cases would be enough to diffuse a hostile situation. No - this is not the point where I advocate for UPD to run out and arm the force, as I struggle with this too - but in thinking of some situations I’ve seen / been involved in on campus - I think I’d feel safer.
I know, I know - this is a comedy blog. But something about this issue / post resonated with me.
Now — go make jokes.
Kiernan … are you stupid? The United States Secret Service Uniformed Division has a mission of protecting the White House. Not protecting or serving the GW University Community. Get into something with Secret Service and see what they do. They will call UPD. Also the only reason they showed up at Mitchell was because they just happened to be passing by … NOT because they were dispatched.
The fact is that UPD is GW’s POlice Force with a mission of protecting and serving the university community. UPD officers report to Chief Stafford who reports to VP Chernak who reports to President Knapp. Where exactly is President Knapp in the US Secret Service chain of command? USSS does not give a danm about GW. Let another 9/11 happen and you will see where their interests lay.
Hurricane Katrina and Virginia Tech should easily demonstrate to even the most stupid people amongst us that entities such as universities and hospitals (which GW is both) must be prepared to handle their own emergencies and not rely upon other agencies to handle it for them.
Lastly how is it fair to the taxpayers of DC and the United States that half the people on here are saying that MPD and USSS should come and do UPD’s job if real police work needs done? GW pays no taxes on its educational interests. It has a responsibility to provide its own basic services (ever see the GW trash trucks?) and not rely upon the tax payers to provide said services to them.
Comment by Kiernan on September 25, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
“not only do UPD officers not need guns, but if something seriously shitty goes down there is an entire well trained, heavily armed, and ruthlessly efficient army located at a few blocks away at 1600 penn. it’s called the US secret service. they send agents to the scene when the fire alarm went off at mitchell hall, can you imagine what they would do if some whacko was walking around campus with a gun? i already feel very well protected. putting a few more guns on the street, albeit in the hands of trained police officers, makes me more uneasy if anything.”
I mean, in what circumstances would it even be useful for a UPD officer to be armed? Did something happen where a UPD officer was at such risk that having a gun would have helped?
Because we’re GW students we forfeit our rights to be protected by other law enforcement agencies? I’m pretty sure UPD and MPD have the right to prevent crime at GW. In fact, I know this because when my laptop was stolen from my I-House room, UPD had MPD come look at the crime scene. I also think most people wouldn’t put collecting trash and armed police protection under the same basic services category. Furthermore, since parts of GW’s campus is in the White House security zone, Secret Service would most definitely respond to an incident involving an armed individual on campus. I also don’t understand where a terrorist attack comes into your argument? If “another 9/11″ happened secret service would not come to GW? I would agree with you there. Unless the new 9/11 is at GW. Then maybe they would? What’s your point?
Mike, don’t call people stupid.
It’s not nice.
Especially when you’re being stupid and suggesting that armed university police officers would have been able to make the Virginia Tech shootings any less intense.
or
When you’re saying Northwest DC is at risk of some Katrina-like situation: the ninth ward had neither the PotUS nor K-Street-Kulture (I love silly names)…it is absurd to imagine a parallel.
or
When you’re suggesting that MPD and UPD don’t work in cooperation when anything serious happens on campus.
or
When you’re suggesting that UPD needs guns, so that MPD can engage itself in “real police work,” as if a situation which called for a gun weren’t “real police work.”
[...] Everyone’s got Van Slyke fever, and the only cure is more handguns. GW now has a task force looking into whether to give its police force handguns, and the kids don’t like it. [...]
its UPDs new recruiting program. “you don’t even know how much fun you can have with a gun until you have some fun with a gun!!!”