U. Police make switch to semiautomatic handguns

Philadelphia Police have carried semiautomatic for several years. Semiautomatic weapons are standard issue for Philadelphia Police officers and most campus police forces across the nation. And recently the Division of Public Safety has begun to provide University Police officers with the same type of weapons many experts say criminals already possess. Officials hailed the switch from revolvers to semiautomatics as a move that should have been made some time ago. "It was overdue," University Police Cpl. Hugh McBreen said. "Not that we have a lot of shootings here, but the streets are getting dangerous? You never know when you're going to need it." McBreen, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 113 -- which represents University Police officers -- said Philadelphia Police have been carrying semiautomatics since at least 1990. University Police Administration Director George Clisby explained that about eight officers of the 80-member force currently carry semiautomatics, and most of these weapons were already "personally owned by newly hired personnel." Clisby added that Public Safety issued the first semiautomatics -- Smith & Wesson's Sigma .40 model -- to firearms instructors last December, and the department will offer the weapons to its officers this spring. Officers must undergo three days of training and a follow-up session to gain certification to carry the handguns. "The majority of the line officers have not received transitional training to date," Clisby said. "The training equipment is arriving, and training schedules have been tentatively set based on public safety services and adequate staffing." McBreen noted that the firearms instructors will soon travel to Smith & Wesson's corporate headquarters in Springfield, Mass., to receive more specialized training in the "finer points of the gun." The intensive training and new equipment come with a sizable price tag. Clisby did not disclose the cost of the switch to semiautomatic weapons, but McBreen called the overhaul "expensive." Several local and national gun dealers pegged the Sigma .40's price at approximately $400 per weapon, with a 10-round magazine going for approximately $60 to $70. Public Safety must also purchase new holsters and magazine holders for officers who opt to carry the semiautomatics, he added. McBreen, who sat on the committee which chose the handguns, praised the Sigma .40's safety features, noting that "you can drop the gun and it won't fire." Public Safety's transition to semiautomatics is one part of Managing Director Thomas Seamon's master plan for campus safety, released last March. Seamon's report cites "increased firepower available to the criminal today" as the main reason behind police departments' conversion to semiautomatics. The switch was not without controversy. At a December 1995 meeting of University Council's Safety and Security Committee, Microbiology Professor Helen Davies and Penn Women's Center Associate Director Gloria Gay voiced vehement opposition to semiautomatics, arguing that criminals would in turn increase their firepower. But Seamon said at the meeting that semiautomatics are safer than revolvers and most major campus police forces already carry the weapons.