George Washington University will begin arming its police force

WASHINGTON — George Washington University will begin arming its police force in an effort to prioritize campus safety. University president Mark S. Wrighton pointed to recent campus shooting at the University of Virginia and Michigan State as a reason to arm officers.

In a  letter sent Thursday to the community announcing the plan to arm the police force, Wrighton also discussed other safety improvement the campus has made over the last few years. Wrighton said the decision to arm officers was made after a year of consideration.

"After more than a year of careful consideration and deliberation, review of safety data and best practices, and input from experts, the Board of Trustees has directed the university administration to develop an implementation plan for arming specially trained GWPD supervisory officers. GWPD officers are sworn police officers, but none of them currently carry firearms," Wrighton wrote in the letter.

It is not clear how many of the specially trained supervisory officers will be a part of the police department. 

Wrighton made it clear that the decision was not made because of a heightened threat to the campus, but an overall rise in gun violence across the country.

"In recent years there have been too many tragic instances of mass gun violence in communities and on college campuses. In the past several months alone, we have noted with deep concern shooting incidents at educational institutions, including at Michigan State University, the University of Virginia, and an elementary school in Nashville," Wrighton wrote.

Wrighton said the university will launch an effort to gain community input and feedback on implementation, as well as other priorities for reimagining public safety at our university.

Feedback can also be submitted through GWU's website here.