Suffolk University’s sworn officers began carrying firearms Nov. 3 after a long debate between students, administration and the SUPD.
“Each officer has completed rigorous training that meets state standards and incorporates the committee’s recommendations, with emphasis on de-escalation and crisis response,” Chief Operative Officer Boris Lazic and Vice President of Student Affairs Laura Ferrari wrote in an email to Suffolk community members Oct. 30.
The sworn officers began carrying a standard-issue handgun and body camera while on duty, the email said.
In addition, officers will have a larger presence on campus — with foot patrols on Tremont Street, West Street and Court Street.
“This is designed to enhance the sense of safety and protection of community members traveling between residence halls and academic buildings,” the Oct. 30 email said.
The SUPD was in partnership with a SUPD Arming Advisory Committee, which was composed of students, faculty and staff from across the university, to develop recommendations that aligned with the community values and campus safety.
The decision to arm SUPD officers comes from the Board of Trustees vote from April 2024. At the time of the vote, staff and students alike were split on their opinions of arming. A survey sent out to the Suffolk community March 2024 found that 62.3% of employees did not believe that officers should be armed.
The conversation around arming is traced back to 2009, when Suffolk Student Government Association sent out the first firearm survey to students. However, the conversation truly began in 2019, after SGA sparked the conversation of arming the SUPD and the Board of Trustees put an indefinite hold on the vote.
In February 2024, the administration re-opened the conversation around arming SUPD. Following this, there was a forum where students expressed concerns about the issue.
Right before the Board of Trustees vote in April 2024, Suffolk’s SGA passed a resolution against the arming of the SUPD. The resolution — which urged the board to vote in opposition to the arming — was passed by just over the required two-thirds majority.
Following the decision, Suffolk students were shocked by the vote, as some worried about what the implementation would mean for student safety and trust and others supported the move for protection in an inner-city campus.
Some students who talked to The Journal in April 2024 said that they were outraged by the decision and feared for the future of campus safety. While others were surprised that officers weren’t already armed, given the prominent downtown Boston location.
In February 2025, the university’s SUPD Arming Advisory Committee released their recommendations for implementing the Board’s decision. These recommendations were presented to the Suffolk community for feedback.
The final report made by the advising committee was released March 4, 2025 outlining their recommendations for a “community care model” which described six “core pillars” for the implementation – transparency, model behavior, progressive, informed perspective, trust and diversity – achieved “through an integrated response model; proper and ongoing training; community policing; and an ongoing community advisory committee,” the report stated.
Now, officers are armed across campus. Along with this, the SUPD’s detective unit substation center is moving to the Sawyer building to “ensure the best coverage of armed police officers across the campus,” according to the email.
The email sent to the Suffolk community said that “all to most” sworn officers now carry hand guns, however there was not a specified number.
“Our goal is and will always be to further strengthen campus safety while preserving the trust and mutual respect that define Suffolk University,” the Oct. 30 email reads.
