GWU to Sharply Increase Its Number of Armed Cops

WASHINGTON - March 26, 2026 - PRLog -- George Washington University [GWU] has decided to sharply increase the number of its campus police who are armed - from 6 to 22, 1/3rd of the force - in order to provide more effective protection and response to possible armed shooters on campus, reports GWU's public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who notes that a majority of major universities arm all of their campus police.

In an interesting twist - perhaps to appease hundreds of GWU faculty who strongly opposed arming any of GWU's police - the university is considering providing firearms training to select community members.

GWU's decision to arm its police came after Banzhaf published a major international study
UNIVERSITY WORLD NEWS - How Can Universities Tackle the Threat of Active Shooters? (https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20221011124140599)
which advocated many steps in addition to having armed responders in every school.

More than 100 GWU faculty argued forcefully but ineffectively against arming any of GWU's police; instead suggesting alternative such as "deep empathy," "nonviolent communication," "active bystander intervention," and "nonviolent self-defense training" which were labeled naive if not outright Kumbaya.  As one report put it:

Citing 'Rising Gun Violence,' GWU to Arm Campus Police Despite Student Protests (https://www.thecollegefix.com/citing-rising-gun-violence-...):
Professor: No evidence protestors' 'Kumbaya' solutions protect students. GWU Law School Professor John Banzhaf said most universities arm all their campus police, and "deranged-shooter-on-campus situations elsewhere have had to be resolved by the use of deadly force. Banzhaf said there is no evidence protesters' "naïve," "Kumbaya" suggested responses to violence – such as "nonviolent communication" and "bystander intervention skills" – will protect students.

Those opposed claimed that this decision is "an attack on DC residents, who will almost certainly be brutalized by an armed GWPD."

jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf