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September 28, 2004
Groups plan stirs debate on arming officers
Sean Dixon
Mesa Legend
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Photo by Casey Ferguson Mesa Legend |
| Robert Tinney (left) and Daniel Melendez are College Certified Public Safety officer’s for MCC. There have been a series of proposals by the College Safety Work Group to arm certified public safety officers and combine the Maricopa Community College District’s public safety departments into one district-wide police force. |
A series of proposals by the College Safety Work Group would create a district-level executive director’s position for Public Safety and reorganize the Maricopa County Community College District’s public safety departments them into an armed, district-wide police department.
The plan would require a minimum of four College Certified Public Safety Officers on-staff at each of the 10 Maricopa County community colleges, and increase the number of support staff.
The proposals, still being drafted, are due by Oct. 1, to MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper, according to Sandra Stuebner, president of the Faculty Executive Council and a member of the College Safety Working Group.
After being reviewed by Glasper, employee groups will be asked for input and the Chancellor’s Executive Council will then weigh the issues. The CEC will have the final decision on which proposals are recommended to the Governing Board for final consideration.
Opponents argue that creating a district-level executive director’s position and adding public safety officers and support staff would divert money needed by the colleges for hiring instructors.
They also point to city, county, state, and nationwide crime statistics that show crime has been steadily decreasing — making it less necessary to arm officers at this time. Some also believe that it would send the wrong message to students about their level of safety while on campus, if officers were armed.
“Money is always an issue,” said Janice Reilly, president of MCC’s Faculty Senate.
“We usually prefer to spend money on the students by hiring full-time faculty members.”
Proponents believe that the safety of students, faculty, and staff, would be enhanced by an increase in the number of security personnel.
Further, according to Steve Corich, MCC’s director of Public Safety, the average College Certified Public Safety Officer working for the MCCCD has 18.5 years of service as a police officer; only those officers who are APOST (Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training) certified would be armed.
For Barry F. Vaughn, professor of philosophy and religious studies at MCC, the arming of college safety officers is eclipsed by a larger issue.
“What do we expect of our college safety (departments)? Do we expect a police force or campus security? Should we expect (those employees) to act as full-fledged police officers, as we do now? Should we expect them to intervene in certain situations?”
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