The Question of Arming Public Safety Officers

Since the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, the Board of Trustees has been intensively deliberating the question of whether to arm Bucknell's public safety officers and assessing the related national and institutional situation. These pages provide information on the materials the Board reviewed as well as the University's comprehensive security measures and related FAQs.

In January 2008, the Board concluded that its obligation to protect the safety and security of the campus community required it to ask the University to proceed with arming Bucknell's public safety officers effective August 2008. The Board has come to this conclusion reluctantly but with a deep sense of responsibility. President Mitchell's January 28, 2008 statement on the Board's decision is below, including his summary of the decisions the University will now address openly with the campus.

Dear Campus Community,

I write to inform you of a decision by the Board of Trustees regarding the question of arming public safety officers at Bucknell. Because of the sensitivity of this issue, I will review the major developments behind the Board's decision. The Board recognizes that the University community is a special one, and has arrived at its decision after significant deliberation. In fact, the Board has been reluctant to reach the conclusion it has, but has finally done so unanimously, having determined that the appropriate decision was clear.

Board and Campus Assessment
As you know, since the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech last April 16, the Board has been intensively deliberating the question of whether to arm Bucknell's public safety officers and assessing the related national and institutional data.

At that time, the Board charged the Trustees' Risk Management Committee and the administration with conducting a thorough evaluation of the question of arming. To lead the administration's work, I appointed an ad hoc task force. I thank the many individuals and groups across campus that have informed this evaluation and participated in the extensive discussion surrounding it. I also express our thanks to the task force members for their work: David Myers, Chief of Staff (Task Force Chair); Wayne Bromfield, General Counsel; Susan Hopp, Dean of Students; Paul McGuire, Professor of Mathematics; and David Surgala, Vice President for Finance and Administration. The Bucknell Student Government executive officers and I also discussed this matter several times during our monthly meetings. My thanks to the leadership of the BSG, which also prepared a valuable report on the question of arming, and to the students, faculty, and staff on the Committee on Complementary Activities for their engagement in this serious discussion. I should note that Judge Susan Crawford, chair of the Board of Trustees, was able to speak personally with the Executive Committee of the Parents' Association on Saturday morning since that board was meeting on campus this weekend, and informed them at that time of the decision of the Trustees.

I also would like to thank Chief Jason Friedberg for his exceptional job leading our Department of Public Safety and establishing the highest standards of professionalism within the department, and extend our deep appreciation to our public safety officers. Their responsibilities during these months of discussion have been under exceptional scrutiny, and they have continued to demonstrate throughout this process their vital role as members of the campus community.

Board Deliberations
The work by the Board's Risk Management Committee and ad hoc task force thus far has included evaluation of the following:

A report requested from the Department of Public Safety on the issues associated with arming our public safety officers (October 2007).

The Bucknell Student Government's "Student Arming Advisory Group Preliminary Report" (November 2007).
The reports on the campus public fora regarding the arming issue as compiled by task force chair Dave Myers.
The August 2007 Virginia Tech Review Panel "Report on the Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech."
The report by an outside consultant who evaluated Bucknell's Department of Public Safety and whether to arm our public safety officers.

At its meetings in September, November, and, most recently, its January meeting this past Thursday and Friday, the Board deliberated these materials as they came forward. As I announced to the campus following the Board's November meeting, the Board charged the administration at that time with taking all necessary steps to begin preparing for arming public safety officers should it conclude at its January meeting that such a step was necessary. The Board did so recognizing that over the past 18 months the University has implemented a number of additional programs to enhance the safety and security of our community, and knowing that any decision on arming was only one part of our regular comprehensive safety and security review. (Please see the public safety website for the documents above and details on our comprehensive safety and security programs.)

Key Issues
In their review, led by the Risk Management Committee, the Board has discussed a wide range of issues and facts associated with the question, including the following:

The University's emergency preparedness plans already encompass extensive arrangements to respond to numerous types of emergencies.
The University has in place thorough processes to help students and personnel receive counseling and other support they may need in order to prevent acts of violence.
The University enjoys a rural location where safety and security are quite freely enjoyed, and an area that is largely removed from types of threats more common to urban areas.
The University benefits with increasing success from a sound working relationship with local police, namely the Lewisburg Police Department, East Buffalo Township Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police.
There are many who are concerned about the impact to the campus of our public safety officers being armed, including the effect this decision could have on the sense of community the campus enjoys.

Led by the committee, the Board also has discussed the following:

In November 2006, as the result of an act passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education mandated that all schools within the public higher education system must maintain an armed security force. This mandate includes public institutions in rural areas and with comprehensive emergency response plans similar to Bucknell's.
Bucknell is only one of two schools (the other being Holy Cross) in the Patriot League that does not already have armed campus public safety officers.
The Virginia Tech Review Panel appointed by the Governor of Virginia concluded that campus police must be prepared to respond immediately to all types of emergencies, whether on their own or in concert with available community resources.
In the rare event of a particular type of emergency – a lethal personal threat to the campus – Bucknell's unarmed public safety officers would have to wait for a response by local law enforcement, which could be seriously problematic. Moreover, the priority of those departments is not Bucknell but instead the residential communities they directly serve; nor do they know Bucknell's students, personnel, or buildings nearly as well as Bucknell's public safety officers do.
Bucknell has 15 public safety officers, and all but one has had at least four years of experience as an armed police officer, with the average level of experience exceeding 15 years. Moreover, any decision to proceed with arming would stipulate that our public safety officers receive the highest levels of appropriate training for this responsibility.
Many other individuals on campus are concerned about the dangers posed to the campus without armed public safety officers as well as to the officers themselves in their obligations to protect and preserve the safety of everyone on campus.

Board Decision
At last week's meeting, the Risk Management Committee led the full Board in another thorough and indeed intensive discussion of the question of arming. The committee and the Board know that any consideration of arming our public safety officers is an extremely sensitive matter, and that this issue inspires strong views on both sides of the question.

As Trustees of Bucknell, and actually in many cases as alumni of Bucknell and grandparents and parents of college students here and elsewhere, the Trustees recognize that their highest obligation is to the safety of the campus. Ultimately this consideration has compelled the Board to reach the decision it has. On Friday, following the recommendation of the Risk Management Committee, the Board unanimously passed the following resolution:

The Board of Trustees do hereby authorize the arming of public safety officers by August 2008, subject to the development of budgets and plans for training, defining the scope and type of deployment that will best protect Bucknell students, as well as an assessment plan.

Next Steps
As a result of the Board's action, I am charging the ad hoc task force to continue providing counsel to the Risk Management Committee and the Board, and to working with me to ensure that we are making a sound transition to the arming of our public safety officers effective this August. The task force will welcome recommendations from members of the campus community on the related issues the Board has outlined in its resolution, including at a public forum it will host soon to discuss them. We commend the BSG for its plans to organize a special forum for students to discuss these issues. In the meantime, you can find additional information, including FAQs, on the public safety website.

There are still critical steps that have to be taken to fulfill the Board's directive. These steps include decisions about under what circumstances and with what equipment public safety officers will be armed. The Board has also directed the University to establish clear protocols for the potential use of lethal force in the truly exceptional cases in which that could be required. These decisions will be shaped by campus discussion and the advice of outside experts.

The Trustees have come to this conclusion reluctantly but with a deep sense of responsibility. I can say as a Trustee myself that we have reviewed this issue from every conceivable angle, and ultimately taken the step that we believe ensures we are doing everything we can to protect the safety and security of the campus community.

My thanks to everyone who has engaged in the deliberations on this issue, and for your support for our public safety officers as the University prepares to enact the Board's decision.

Sincerely,

Brian C. Mitchell
President