Of the public universities, 16 (52%) have armed their sworn officers, and of the private universities, 12 (36%) have armed their sworn officers. Examining the data on sworn armed officers by university type allowed us to compare our findings to that of previously conducted surveys.
The difference between the number of armed public universities and the number of armed private universities was apparent in the 2004–2005 BJS Survey, as well as the 2008 National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) member survey. This difference is likely due to varying legal authorities and restrictions and the ease with which each type of university can pursue this change. Another contributing factor to this difference is the type of personnel employed by public and private universities. According to the 2004–2005 BJS Survey, more than 50% of private universities employ nonsworn security personnel, and transitioning from a nonsworn security force to an armed sworn security police force is a difficult, lengthy and expensive process (see chart above or click here to see enlarged view).
An examination of these universities by student enrollment (see chart on the next page) produced findings that reflected trends found in previous surveys of campus law enforcement agencies. Typically, universities with large student enrollment levels already employ sworn armed officers (and have for several decades); thus, the most significant increase occurred among universities with mid- to lower- levels of student enrollment.
In addition to examining the data gathered by university type and student enrollment, CNA also gathered data on the year that these universities were armed. Using the information provided by the university during the phone interview, as well as supplemental information obtained through media reports, CNA was able to identify the year armed for 25 of the 28 universities.
This data allowed us to determine the impact of mass shootings on a university’s decision to arm their officers. Upon examination, CNA found significant increases in the number of universities that have armed their sworn officers after the mass shooting incidents at Virginia Tech (2007), Northern Illinois University (2008), and Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012) (see chart on the following page).
