thedrifter
04-21-07, 10:50 AM
Grant Kemp: Marshals would make our campuses safer
4/21/2007 7:15:48 AM
By Grant Kemp
What should we do to prevent college massacres like what happened at Virginia Tech? Beefing up campus police will be expensive and still will not prevent these kinds of disasters.
More campus police will enhance traffic law enforcement and response to complaints, but will not stop a madman bent on killing many innocent students and professors. A Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll shows that most people believe these attacks cannot be prevented. I disagree.
The Air Marshal program, which came into being to stop plane hijackings, has been successful because of outstanding personnel and training. No one knows if the person seated near you is an armed Air Marshal ready to act on a moment's notice or not. As a result, hijackings have been virtually eliminated.
I believe we have similar resources that should be taken seriously. We have hundreds of active military service personnel coming home who have already received, at taxpayer expense, the kind of high quality training that could be used at the time of need in a Rapid Response Unit at any college in our nation.
For example, I have a son who is now completing four years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a garrison military police officer. He'll leave the Marines with a degree in law enforcement and criminal justice and will also be enrolling in a university to further his higher education. Where could his training and experience continue to help his fellow man?
The answer is -- he should be allowed to apply and qualify for something I'll call the College Marshal program.
These ex-service personnel would be slightly older than the average college population but would easily fit in with that group, and applicants must pass a thorough screening program. Then they should be admitted to the college of their choice -- incognito, but be further trained to engage those who would kill innocent students and faculty. No one would know that they are armed, carry alert pagers and cell phones. In addition, they would have a police identification card and badge worn on a chain around their necks -- to be displayed only during and after a major incident.
College Marshals should serve until they graduate. Their only "pay" would be free books and tuition.
The College Marshal Program needs to be implemented at the national level and Congress should pass legislation to establish it.
The program is workable, cost effective, and efficient. It will save lives!
Grant Kemp is a longtime Rochester resident and retired IBM employee. He has a son currently serving with the Marines.
Ellie
4/21/2007 7:15:48 AM
By Grant Kemp
What should we do to prevent college massacres like what happened at Virginia Tech? Beefing up campus police will be expensive and still will not prevent these kinds of disasters.
More campus police will enhance traffic law enforcement and response to complaints, but will not stop a madman bent on killing many innocent students and professors. A Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll shows that most people believe these attacks cannot be prevented. I disagree.
The Air Marshal program, which came into being to stop plane hijackings, has been successful because of outstanding personnel and training. No one knows if the person seated near you is an armed Air Marshal ready to act on a moment's notice or not. As a result, hijackings have been virtually eliminated.
I believe we have similar resources that should be taken seriously. We have hundreds of active military service personnel coming home who have already received, at taxpayer expense, the kind of high quality training that could be used at the time of need in a Rapid Response Unit at any college in our nation.
For example, I have a son who is now completing four years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a garrison military police officer. He'll leave the Marines with a degree in law enforcement and criminal justice and will also be enrolling in a university to further his higher education. Where could his training and experience continue to help his fellow man?
The answer is -- he should be allowed to apply and qualify for something I'll call the College Marshal program.
These ex-service personnel would be slightly older than the average college population but would easily fit in with that group, and applicants must pass a thorough screening program. Then they should be admitted to the college of their choice -- incognito, but be further trained to engage those who would kill innocent students and faculty. No one would know that they are armed, carry alert pagers and cell phones. In addition, they would have a police identification card and badge worn on a chain around their necks -- to be displayed only during and after a major incident.
College Marshals should serve until they graduate. Their only "pay" would be free books and tuition.
The College Marshal Program needs to be implemented at the national level and Congress should pass legislation to establish it.
The program is workable, cost effective, and efficient. It will save lives!
Grant Kemp is a longtime Rochester resident and retired IBM employee. He has a son currently serving with the Marines.
Ellie