RADNOR, Pa., Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Villanova University announced it is considering adding a full-service police force to its campus with the possibility of arming its officers.
Should the school agree to upgrade its current public safety department, it would join the 74 percent of U.S. colleges and universities that currently have sworn law enforcement officers with the power to make arrests. Two-thirds of those schools have armed campus police, a 2004-05 survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics said.
The possible move has sparked concern among students and local law enforcement officers, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday.
"I would have liked a little more professional courtesy," said Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo, who said he was "a bit taken aback" by the news.
He said he was initially told the rumors of the possible move were untrue, but more recently heard it was "a possibility."
The trend to arm on-campus officers has accelerated steadily since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 people were killed.
