Pa. College Becomes Third in County to Arm Campus Guards
King’s College followed the lead of nearby Wilkes University and Luzerne County Community College in arming some of its guards.
King’s College in Northeastern Pennsylvania announced July 27 that it will begin arming some of its security guards on campus.
The move follows similar decisions by nearby schools Luzerne County Community College and Wilkes University, which armed their security guards in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Although King’s College spokesman John McAndrew did not release specific details about who will be armed he says the security force will form a “hybrid” of armed and unarmed guards, according to timesleader.com.
Under state law any officers or guards carrying a firearm must complete Act 235 or Act 120 training. Some college guards are former police officers who already qualify to carry guns and others will need to complete the training. McAndrew says the college has been working toward arming its guards for 18 months.
The college elected against switching to a campus police force and will still rely on the Wilkes-Barre Police Department to make arrests and patrol around off campus housing. Few colleges in the area employ a campus police force.
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