Tufts does hire external security officers, in addition to their armed police force (TUPD) and unarmed campus security officers (CSOs).
Contract security officers are non-sworn personnel who are used primarily at interior fixed positions at buildings on campus. Contract Security Officers work for Allied Universal, a private firm contracted by the university, to provide supplemental safety and security services. Allied Universal officers are posted at various buildings on the Medford/Somerville campus including Tisch Library, Tisch Sports Center, Cabot Center, Aidekman Arts Center and the TAB Building.
I have been to both campuses- many times in fact. My point is that a comparison of who is on the payroll with a security title is not helpful- since external contracted security guards do not show up in the count.
You can only compare apples to apples. And the number of security officers doesnât tell you much unless you understand the relationship between campus and local police (in some jurisdictions, local police will not step foot on campus without a search warrant or unless they are chasing a suspect involved in another crime who drives onto campus property), the relationship between campus police and other arms of law enforcement (transit cops in urban areas, who patrol the areas near bus and subway stations, etc.)
What are you trying to prove with your statistics?
You are right with the student population difference. To help you understand, Medford police department has 135 staffs, and all Tufts police has few than 100 staffs(public and private combined). What else you want to argue about?
Iâm not arguing. Iâm trying to understand what point you think you are making.
And what differences should I be perceiving- the racial composition of the surrounding neighborhood? Relative rates of poverty in Baltimore vs. Metro Boston? And why would you challenge me on whether or not Iâve been to both campuses?
There are dangerous things that happen on every college campus in America. You need to help your child learn behaviors which make them less likely to become a victim of a crime. I know young women who were raped at frat parties- it is not alarmist to tell your kids NOT to drink anything at a party that doesnât come out of a closed container. You donât know who has put a drug in your mixed drink, or who put something vile in the open punch bowl. It is not alarmist to tell your kids NOT to keep the back door to their dorm propped open with a brick or rock because they have a friend coming over who isnât a student and doesnât have an ID- swipe in procedures are there to protect the students. It is not alarmist to teach your kids to take the van home from the library at midnight if they donât have classmates to walk with, or to leave the fancy jewelry or expensive sunglasses at home.
But it is alarmist to conclude that your kid will be safer at Tufts than at Yale, Penn, JHU or other urban campuses. Or that your kid will be safer at U Mass or U Conn (out in the boonies) than at BU. Thatâs delusional. Bad things happen in Storrs tooâŠ
Or they are both equally dangerous/equally safe, but Hopkins has stricter protocols in place to guard against unauthorized access, i.e. only conservatory students allowed in to music practice spaces, only art majors allowed to use studio space, so many more security guards are required to staff entrances and exits of campus buildings and check IDâs.
Or they are both equally dangerous/equally safe, but Hopkins has a line item in the budget called âsecurityâ and if they donât spend it in any single year, the line item gets cut. Tufts operates on zero based budgeting, so any overage in a particular year wonât impact next yearâs spending.
Or they are both equally dangerous/equally safe, but Hopkins has an endowed fund to pay for security and the endowment requires a certain percentage be spent out of the endowment annually. Tufts does not have an endowed fund, so their leadership is highly incented to cut costs wherever they can (i.e. outsource where they can).
See? Itâs so much fun to take two disparate facts and draw whatever conclusions work for you!
This may be delusional but to my kid who is applying to Tufts but not Johnâs Hopkins the big difference seemed to be the intensity level which he perceived (based on combo of visit and rumors/reputation to be much higher at JHU than at Tufts where he thought he could have more balance between schoolwork and social life.
I donât think itâs delusional. My point was that itâs delusional to think that your kid will be safe in one place and at risk somewhere else. There are some activities (drinking until you black out, for example, which takes place everywhere, even with numerous security guards) which are inherently dangerous.
If your son prefers Tufts to Hopkins- terrific! Fingers crossed!
DD was a TA (statistics) at JHU last year, she was less then impressed with the extreme competiveness of the student body. I imagine that is from all the pre meds there. As far as safety goes, meh, just keep your child at home, the world is an unsafe place.
I believe the JHU security staff also handles the medical school campus which is in a very very different type of neighborhood than the Homewood campus.
Then the question is does the 1000 member security force for Tufts include all the campuses? JHU campuses are both in the city of Baltimore, and not that far apart, but the Homewood campus is in a lovely residential area with neighboring old homes and churches, parks, and other universities (Loyola, Notre Dame) and private schools. The hospital is in an area that requires barbed wire around parking lots and security to get to your car.
The two schools donât have the the same set ups or needs. I assume each school has what they need to keep their students and faculty safe while working with the local police force. USC also has a large security force that extends off campus to protect students. I worked in the courts in Boulder for a year and found the campus police force better than the city police in securing a crime scene.
Then the question is does the 1000 member security force for Tufts include all the campuses?
Where you got 1000 member for Tufts? From online source, Tufts has fewer than 100 member, public and private combined, and Medford(where Tufts main campus located) police has 135 member.