Princeton University in New Jersey will soon be providing Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers with access to rifles should emergency situations arise on campus. The policy change, which will be enacted in the coming months, was unveiled at a meeting on Monday.
While certainly a step in the right direction, Princeton’s new policy falls just a bit short. Having officers merely ready to arm themselves instead of armed at all times could be the difference between life and death. As DPS Executive Director Paul Ominsky noted in announcing the policy change: “Response time matters. Even a few minutes can make a difference to save a life.”
All DPS officers undergo 26 weeks of training and possess many of the same credentials as local police officers, including the power to arrest. So why not give them the same opportunity to save lives—one of which may be their own?
