State Representative William O'Brien is questing the administrations at Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode regarding campus security. He's introduced legislation in the past mandating that public college police officers carry guns.
“In this day and age, we have to be realistic on how to best protect students, staff and visitors at our state’s public colleges. Flashlights and pepper spray will accomplish nothing if someone with a gun shows up on campus to inflict maximum harm. I know this fact, and the idea of firearms in general, is troubling to many, but the only way to ensure the safety of those on campus is to have our highly trained campus police officers, with many being retired members of law enforcement, equipped with the tools necessary to end an active shooter situation as quickly as possible. The red flags are unfortunately all over our society and I implore the administration of RIC, and CCRI, to wake up and finally take campus security seriously by arming campus police officers before a horrific tragedy may ensue,” said Representative O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence).
Currently, the University of Rhode Island is the only public institute of higher education that has armed its campus police officers.
URI instituted this policy in 2015. Representative O’Brien notes that Brown University in Providence, a private institution, also has campus police officers that carry firearms.
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