Task force unanimously recommends arming the campus police

A campus-wide task force has unanimously recommended that campus police be equipped with firearms, officials said.According to Lt. Brad Young of the PCC Police Department, who served as an advisor to the task force, the "Arming the Police" Task Force was persuaded by the evidence.

The task force, originally established by then Vice President of Administrative Services Kindred Murillo, who served in that position from August 2007 to August 2008, was designed to examine the pros and cons of arming the campus police.

"The firearm problem is a big issue," said Young, a long-time advocate for arming the campus police.

The report that the task force drafted was sent to PCC President Paulette Perfumo in mid-July, according to task force member Mark Zacovic, interim vice president of administrative services.

"[We conducted] deep research into evidence and cases," said Zacovic, about drafting the 64-page report that took 14 months to complete.

"[There is] little to no evidence of there being less safety with armed police," Zacovic said.

Originally the task force was divided on whether to arm the police, Young said. Each side, pro and con, went and researched the issue, looking for arguments that would make their case.

According to Zacovic, the task force came back with two reports, one pro and one con.

"One group had done a better job at making the argument," Zacovic said. "It was the pro side. But we agreed to merge the two documents into one, simply presenting the facts."

Once the report was in its final draft, two of the student members of the task force came to a meeting, complaining that the report was one-sided, according to Zacovic.

"They asked for more time to research into the con side," Zacovic said. "The student voice is important, so we said sure.

"They came back a couple weeks later and said, 'we couldn't find anything on the con side.'"

Zacovic then said that the students agreed the report should stand as it was, with all members of the task force unanimously recommending arming the police.

The matter is expected to be addressed at the next board meeting.

Zacovic speculated the issue had been postponed because the board had more important issues at hand, such as the budget crisis.

The final decision will be made by the Board of Trustees.