The state’s University System plans to hire 51 additional campus police officers this year as part of its efforts to make Georgia’s college campuses safer.
The police hires are part of a safety and security report submitted this week to Gov. Nathan Deal. Deal requested the safety plans in May as part of his veto of a "campus carry" bill passed by the state Legislature. Deal requested the reports from the state's public university and technical college systems be due on Aug. 1, the same day a campus-carry law went into effect in Texas.
Lawmakers and gun rights advocates cited crimes committed on local campuses, including robberies of students at Georgia Tech and inside Georgia State University’s library, as support for their argument to allow guns guns on campus. The bill would have allowed anyone 21 or older with a weapon license to carry a gun anywhere on a public college or university campus, except inside dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses and at athletic events.
With a nod toward the safety concerns, Deal ordered the college systems to report the security measures that each has in place.
Not counting the 51 new officers, the University System currently has 818 full-time, certified officers on its 29 campuses. Georgia State is adding 75 officer over the next five years.
Last year, the University System implemented a systemwide safety initiative that included reviews of campus police, crime reporting and the handling of sexual assaults. Individually, each campus will have established its own campus safety committee this year, according to the report.
The university and technical college systems also reported other safety efforts on tap including adding security cameras and improving officer and staff training.
Together with campus presidents, “we believe that our campuses offer a safe environment,” University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby wrote in a letter to Deal, noting that the rate of violent crimes on Georgia’s campuses is much lower than in the state overall. “But we know we must do more to improve safety on our campuses.”
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