While the average student may not know the difference between a peace officer and a police officer, the Department of Public Safety sure does.

The difference will prove even more vital if Gov. George E. Pataki signs a bill, which has passed New York state Legislature and is currently awaiting his approval, to allow Syracuse University to upgrade Public Safety officers from enhanced authorities to peace officers. This change, among other things, could allow Public Safety officers to carry guns, detain suspects and reply to more calls.

‘What we’re looking at is the ability to give more quality service,’ said Marlene Hall, chief of Public Safety.

Along with the ability to carry a gun, peace officer status would also allow for a broad range of judicial changes, including the ability to equip patrol cars with sirens and holding cells, Hall said.

As of now, Public Safety officers are limited to certain types of calls, both for reasons of jurisdiction and for simple common sense, as responding to an armed robbery equipped only with a baton and pepper spray is not recommended.

Matters of jurisdiction, overshadowed by the firearms debate, will still weigh heavily in the decision. Instead of relying on the Syracuse Police Department to transport a suspect, for example, peace officers would be able to take a suspect to the police station themselves. They would also be able to detain people who are violating a restraining order by charging them with a misdemeanor instead of writing them a ticket.

While these powers would aid Public Safety in maintaining order on campus, Hall reiterated that the decision to upgrade to peace officer status will rely heavily on community reaction.

‘If I didn’t think it was something helpful, I wouldn’t be looking into this,’ Hall said. ‘But as of now, we are mainly concerned with how the community feels about it.’

Students have mixed feelings on the necessity of arming Public Safety officers.

‘I feel it’s unnecessary for a campus setting,’ said senior finance and marketing major Josef Stark.

Another contested issue regarding peace officer status is the proposed ability to pull over DUIs. Equipped with sirens and holding cells in the back of their cars, officers would be able to track and arrest erratic drivers on and around campus. As of now, Public Safety is limited to taking down the license plate number and handing it over to the Syracuse Police to follow up.

Another change that could come from the switch to peace officers would be the ability to access state and federal crime networks from Public Safety’s headquarters in Sims Hall. Again, the increased power of the proposed force unnerves some students.

‘I think the police officers are here to do their job, and Public Safety is here to do [its job], and I don’t think they should totally blend the two,’ said industrial design major Chris Terella.

But the difference between peace officers and police officers is a vast one, according to Hall. Matters of jurisdiction and the inability to serve outstanding warrants are two of the areas in which peace officers are clearly not as mobile as their colleagues in the Syracuse Police Department.

If the bill passes, the onus will still rely on the University Senate and the Board of Trustees to decide on the matter. Once they make their decision, it will still take until at least the fall semester of 2004 to complete the changes.

Published on September 9, 2003 at 12:00 pm