Over the next few months, Quinnipiac University will have armed safety officers patrolling its campus, The Courant reported.

The university will arm senior public safety officers, retired state and local police who are familiar with law enforcement, the use of firearms, and the use of force, Mark Thompson, executive vice president and provost of the university, said in a memo to students and faculty, according to The Courant.

"The decision to arm senior public safety officers was made in accordance with our belief that nothing is more important than maintaining the safety and security of all members of the University community," Thompson said.

The new program will be implemented on the Quinnipiac University's three campuses: Mount Carmel Campus, which has 212 acres in Hamden; the York Hill Campus, also in Hamden, with its 234 acres; and the North Haven Campus's 104 acres, John Morgan, the university's spokesman, told The Courant.

"The addition of senior public safety officers will not change the Department of Public Safety's mission; it will only enhance Public Safety's ability to provide a safe and secure environment," Thompson is quoted as saying on the school's internal website by The Courant.

The new senior public safety public safety officers will join the unarmed school safety officers that already patrol on foot and in cars on the three campuses.

"By having senior public safety officers on all three campuses, response times to incidents requiring an armed officer will be shortened and the responding officer will be intimately familiar with the University," Thompson said.

The university's emergency guide will be modified to include the armed officers, The Quinnipiac Chronicle.