All Brandeis Public Safety officers will be armed by the time students return to campus in the fall, according to Chief of Public Safety Ed Callahan. Callahan said that the 11 or 12 Public Safety officers who have successfully completed the required tests will be armed by June 2.

Officers will be expected to carry firearms during all of their shifts once they are armed. The firearms are the property of the University. When not in use they must be secured and then stowed in a separate locker, which is monitored by closed-circuit television.

Concerns regarding the process of arming the police include the circumstances under which officers can use firearms, whether the officers will carry them all the time and whether the guns will intimidate students.

In response to these concerns, the Firearms Policy Advisory Committee came up with a report, which was written by Senior Vice President of Communication Lorna Miles, detailing the required training and tests officers must undergo in order to carry firearms, as well as the conditions under which an officer may use his gun.

The policy "outlines a continuum of force, which basically entails different steps and different processes [for dealing with situations that may entail the use of firearms]," said Callahan. The policy was developed after looking at similar policies at nearby institutions such, as Tufts University.

The policy can now be found on the Public Safety Web site, along with a list of frequently asked questions regarding the use of firearms at Brandeis.

"For most practices, that continuum of force works in escalation and de-escalation form," said Callahan, and "it's up to the officer to determine where he or she can start" in the continuum of responses.

The first step in the process is verbalization, followed by physical strength and/or hand control. Next comes the use of a chemical substance such as oleoresin capsicum, a spray similar to pepper spray, which all Public Safety Officers carry. The next step is use of an impact weapon/defensive force, which entails a police baton, and lastly, the use of deadly force/firearms.

"Deadly force can be employed ONLY when an officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life," the policy reads. "Every means of employing the minimum amount of force [must] be exhausted before moving to a more severe application."

"I think [the continuum of force] was one of the most important pieces of information for students to know . [because] it relieves concerns for students to know that process," said committee member and immediate past Student Union president Shreeya Sinha '09. According to Sinha, it was important for students "just to know that there would be verbal warnings" before officers would use a firearm, so that "students also know that this is a very carefully thought-out implementation process."

The policy also discusses that officers must receive physical, psychological and sensitivity training. "All of the officers had to go through a medical testing process, . and they had to go through a group psychological test and individual psychological test," said Callahan.

"It is the goal of the psychological evaluation process to ensure that only mature and well controlled police officers are equipped with weapons," said Callahan in an e-mail to the Justice. "All of the psychological evaluations inclusive of individual, group and written tests were initiated to determine if there were any mental health/emotional stability concerns as well as any aggressive/violent tendencies that would eliminate an officer from carrying a firearm," wrote Callahan.

The policy says that in a seminar titled "Managing Cultural Diversity at Brandeis," officers learned how to deal with cultural differences and values, how to understand body language in communication and how to "work through actual conflict case resolution."

According to Callahan, after completing the aforementioned training, officers completed an extensive two-week program with the Waltham police. Officers must be recertified to carry weapons every six months, said Callahan. According to Callahan, all Public Safety officers who carry firearms must possess a license to carry a firearm issued by the Waltham Police Department upon completion of training by Waltham Police firearms instructors certified by the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council.

According to Miles, arming the campus police is the last piece of the University's Safety and Security Emergency Response, which includes the emergency broadcasting system that was implemented last semester and consists of sirens and Universitywide text messaging in case of emergency.

Callahan said, "We have this wonderful abundance of technology where you can communicate to students that there is an emergency, ... [but] you still have the police showing up without the proper tools" to deal with the situation. He said that Public Safety officers know the Brandeis campus, buildings and culture of the school better than the Waltham police.

The policy also stresses the importance of "straightforward, consistent and continued communication" in the implementation of the firearms policy.

"There's going to be a committee formed in the fall," said Sinha. "Hopefully they can start looking at ways to bring students and Public Safety together" in an effort to increase communication. This effort is the Public Safety University Committee, which is currently being organized by Student Union President Jason Gray '10.

"I hope that as the police are armed in this coming year we will be able to monitor the implementation, keep open the lines of communication and provide ways to ensure that students feel safe on this campus and then have the venue to express their concerns if they have one," said Gray, who organized a forum last semester to receive student input regarding the process of arming campus police.

The Public Safety Web site says that Public Safety officers will carry Glock .40-caliber automatics. In addition, this process of arming, including training and equipment, will cost less than $100,000 and will not affect tuition.