A
Bullet for Every Two CUNY Students
The
SAFE Team, CUNY's political police, prepares for student protests: 9mm Glocks,
hollow-tip bullets, shotgun rounds, and body armor. Coming soon: the $90,000
security guard.
By
Keith
Reprinted from The Hunter Envoy
Despite
repeated claims to the contrary, CUNY Central administration is continuing the
militarization of CUNY peace officers that began six years ago under former
chancellor Ann Reynolds.
CUNY
records, obtained by the Hunter Envoy under the Freedom of Information Act, show
that during the last three years alone, CUNY security has purchased in excess of
110,000 rounds of small arms ammunition worth in excess of $30,000.
These
ammunition purchases include many types that might be considered inappropriate
for typical campus security, such as 9mm hollow point, .38 caliber Ny-Clad, and
12 gauge shotgun rounds. In addition to the ammunition, CUNY security has
purchased 7 Smith & Wesson .38 caliber pistols and 8 Glock 9mm
semi-automatic pistols. Seven of the Glock's were also fitted with 'night
sights', which allow the pistols' sights to been seen in low light conditions.
With
the exception of Lehman College, normal CUNY peace officers are not allowed to
carry firearms on campus. This decision rests in the hands of individual campus
presidents, and for the most part, none of them have likely for fear of the
political or legal fallout from allowing weapons on their campus.(In 1996, CCNY
president Yolanda Moses rejected a proposal submitted by Security Director
Timothy Hubbard to arm City College guards after vociferous protests by students
and faculty.)
However,
CUNY SAFE officers, culled from the upper ranks of CUNY peace officers and
designated with the mission of dealing with student protests, are permitted to
carry firearms if they feel the situation calls for it. Dave Fields, the Special
Consul to the Chancellor, points out that despite SAFE's ability to carry
weapons, they have never done so, with one notable exception. At the 1995 Black
Solidarity Day rally at York College, several SAFE officers brought weapons to
the highly charged event. Fields says that the weapons at this event were
immediately locked inside a safe that was located in one of the SAFE vehicles.
"The weapons were never taken into the rally area," says Fields.
Another
exception is when a metal detector is used for events or functions. CUNY policy
states that either an armed NYPD officer or an armed SAFE officer must be
present when a magnetometer (metal detector) is used on campuses. Fields, who
helped draft the related policy, says that the emphasis is put on trying to get
an NYPD officer to perform the duty and only use an armed SAFE officer as a last
resort.
Over
the three years of records reviewed, various other types of so-called
"non-lethal" crowd and riot control equipment were also purchased by
CUNY Central. These include hundreds of ASP extending batons, over 400
mace/pepper spray dispensers, body armor for SAFE teams, and federally approved
riot helmets. During her tenure, Chancellor Ann Reynolds made no secret of her
desire to have a SWAT-type force at her call to deal with student demonstrations
and protests, and her hiring of University Security Director Jose Elique, a
former Port Authority counter-terrorism expert, and the formation of SAFE in
1992, brought her very close to her goal.
However,
many people thought that this elaborate buildup and arming of CUNY security had
stopped with her resignation two years ago. According to CUNY records, this is
not the case. Security at CUNY still receives the highest financial funding of
any college system in the northeast United States, between $30 million and $40
million a year. The highest paid SAFE officers, at $81,000 a year, now make more
than top CUNY professors who max out at $78,000. There are even plans in the
work to create a new SAFE rank that will put some SAFE officers in the same pay
range, close to $90,000, as college presidents.
According
to CUNY security officials, this money and equipment is all necessary to
maintain the peace. However, CUNY records show that crime rates at CUNY schools
have remained almost constant over the last ten years, especially in the area of
violent crimes. Last year there were less than a dozen violent crimes on the 21
CUNY campuses. The obvious question that many students and faculty are asking
is, "If after six years and close to $100 million we are no safer, what has
been the point of SAFE?"