Starting June 2, Brandeis University police officers will be armed, said Ed Callahan, the school's public safety director.
The weapon of choice: a Glock 40-caliber automatic handgun, the same firearm used by Waltham Police and Bentley College police, Callahan said.
University officials and members of the university's Firearms Policy Advisory Committee compiled a final report on the idea last week. The document was posted on the university's Web site earlier this week.
The report offers an extensive look at the factors that led to the decision.
"I was very impressed by the forwardness of the process we went through as a community and the level of interest and engagement from students and faculty and staff who participated," said Lorna Miles, Brandeis spokesman.
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said she hopes Brandeis University officers foster solid communications with their city counterparts.
"I'd like to make sure they make a good communication with the Waltham Police Department and that their training was done (properly)," McCarthy said. "The issue of proper training between the law enforcement departments (is my main concern)."
Campus police are now going through a series of physical and psychological tests using the same guidelines local and state police use in their training.
A use of force policy was also compiled by the Firearms Police Advisory Committee, outlining among other things, specific scenarios in which campus police may use their weapons. The policy is confidential according the recent report. The policy does however state deadly force can be employed only when an officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life.
The total cost to train and arm Brandeis University Police is less than $100,000, according to the report. It will not affect tuition, according to the report.
In September 2007, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French with a group of faculty, students and staff members, submitted a report to Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz, recommending they begin arming police.
The recommendation included a university study of safety and security systems and procedures. Campus officials say the recommendation was partially a reaction to the Virginia Tech Massacre, in which 32 students and faculty were gunned down on April 16, 2007.
Following the massacre, Brandeis installed outdoor sirens and developed an emergency notification system.
Reinharz accepted the recommendation and sent an e-mail to the campus community announcing they move forward with the arming later that month.
University officials later decided to re-examine the question of arming campus police and the Firearms Safety Advisory Committee was formed.
"We heard from experts and from people that trained the campus police and did diversity training," said Matt Rogers, a committee member and student."We're going to be making recommendations to the university president in certain areas to make sure students feel safe."
The committee met three times this year to discuss concerns surrounding the issue.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
