According to the 2018 Sacramento State Campus Climate Survey published last December, over half of university administrators, faculty and staff polled disagreed with or were undecided on the idea that “campus police should be armed at all times.”

The Campus Climate Survey includes 40 pages of material regarding topics such as “How Welcoming Is Sacramento State?” and “Religion and Politics.” The question about keeping police armed fell under the “Safety” section of the survey.

According to Lieutenant Harvey Woo of the Sac State Police Department, the department currently has a force of 23 officers, all of which are trained and equipped with firearms. Specifically, each officer is equipped with a Sig Sauer P320, a 9mm pistol capable of semi-automatic fire. Some officers are also trained and equipped with a Colt M4 5.56-caliber rifle.

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The arming of campus police forces is allowed and regulated under California Penal Code 830. 2 and Education Code 89560. According to Woo, all 23 CSU police departments and all nine UC school police departments are armed to some extent, with each campus choosing its policies independently.

For Sac State police, the decisions on which weapons are carried and by which officers are made internally by the by the head of the department.

“The purpose of carrying a firearm is to protect those you are in charge of protecting,” Woo said. “We carry firearms for those rare exceptions that people come on campus with malicious intentions… Do you want the police to armed or not armed in those eventualities?”

Sac State’s causeway neighbor UC Davis also currently arms all 50 of its officers, according to UCDPD Sergeant Bill Beermann, who confirmed the department issues Glock 19 and 17 model 9mm handguns. There are also “several other brands” that the officers are authorized to carry if they purchase their own weapon(s).

“UCDPD equips its members with firearms to address the risks posed to the public and department members by violent and sometimes well-armed persons,” Beermann said of the policy.

While the Campus Climate Survey shows that some members of the college’s workforce are uneasy about the Sac State PD’s armament situation, many students favor the idea.

“I definitely feel safer [with the police carrying firearms]… we should have the best things to defend us,” said nutrition major Konrad Trevino.

Nutrition major Abraham Maldonado and kinesiology major Santiago Ruiz both mentioned the training police go through as a reason why students should trust them with firearms.

“They train for months, so obviously they know how to handle those situations,” Maldonado said.

History major Michael Demos expressed strong support for Sac State PD and their armament policy.

“I’ve been here for four years and always felt safe here… [the Sac State police officers] are the best trained people I know,” Demos said.

Liberal studies major Rosemary David said that even if some feel unsafe with an armed police, the alternative would be much less safe.

“I think it’s important that they are armed,” said David. “If they weren’t armed, what the heck are they going to do if a student is?”