Villanova University to create own police department

VILLANOVA, Pa. (WPVI) -- Villanova University is adding another level of campus security.

The school will create its own police department, with some officers undergoing the same training as public law enforcement.

The officers will also be armed.

"It will definitely be a change to know they have that kind of force," freshman Emily Zazzu said.

"There are police departments on other college campuses so if anything I think it will make people feel safer if there are threats in the future," sophomore Reghan Pattwell said.

"This was a conversation that took two years, we went about it in a very thorough, thoughtful, respectful way, we engaged members of the community throughout the process," Assistant Vice President for Government Relations Chris Kovolski said.

Current public safety vehicles don't have lights or sirens, they don't have direct access to 911 dispatch or to crime databases and they can't detain people without permission.

All that will change.

Current employees will have to apply for officer positions, and those accepted will have to go through a police academy.

A new facility will likely be built. Two to three officers will man a shift.

Not all students agree.

"If you want to go into what type of atmosphere it will create, it will create a negative one because these people are going to have guns on campus. We've never dealt with that before, we really don't need it," senior Eric Iamurri said.

Recent on campus gun violence and an even more recent vague threat to Philadelphia area colleges and universities were a factor, but not the sole reason behind the decision.

"We're fortunate to be a safe campus and a very safe community, however, we've seen safe communities are not immune to these type of incidents. We're close to I-476, we have three train stations on campus, hundreds of thousands of visitors a year," Kovolski said.

Villanova is a private university so they will fund the department. They will still work closely with Radnor Township police.

The school expects the first officers will be ready by the fall of 2016.