University will not arm UPD

The University Police Department is located on G and 21st streets. Chris Gregory/Hatchet staff photographer

After nearly a year of research and debate, GW has decided not to arm University Police Department officers, University President Steven Knapp announced Wednesday afternoon.

The University chose not to arm UPD after receiving a recommendation from James Lee Witt Associates, a security consulting firm hired by GW last December to help determine the necessity of giving guns to officers. In the review, consultants found “no compelling justification for providing firearms to the University Police Department,” according a summary of the consultation released Wednesday.

Knapp also announced Wednesday that the University would follow an additional recommendation by James Lee Witt Associates to consolidate its safety and security departments under one administrator. UPD Chief Dolores Stafford will now report to Executive Vice President and Treasurer Lou Katz, who currently oversees emergency management and the safety functions in risk management.

As part of the reform, University functions like UPD, emergency management and parts of risk management will be merged under a new position called the associate vice president for safety and security.