Most police on U.S. public college campuses are armed: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 90 percent of campus law enforcement officers at public U.S. colleges are armed, according to a branch of the Justice Department. A report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on the 2011-2012 school year showed that colleges were hiring full-time law enforcement officers at a quicker rate than they were adding students, 16 percent compared to 11 percent, since the 2004-2005 school year. The study said 95 percent of all campuses have their own law enforcement agencies and that 92 percent of public institutions have sworn law officers with full arrest powers. Ninety-four percent of the officers at public colleges are authorized to carry side arms and use chemical spray. At private universities, 38 percent of the security personnel are sworn officers. College campuses have been scenes of violent incidents in recent years, including a 2007 shooting spree by a Virginia Tech student who killed 32 people and wounded 17 before committing suicide. Nearly all colleges have a mass notification system using email, text messages and other methods to warn students and personnel of emergencies, the report said. (Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Eric Walsh)