Here are the facts: The Iowa State Department of Public Safety officers are well-trained, competent professionals.

They do a good job as law enforcement officers of keeping the peace on campus. They are generally fair and courteous when dealing with students, staff and campus visitors. The campus is a better place with their presence. They have the right to feel safe when doing their jobs.

These are observations, ones presented neither to appease nor curry favor, but rather to give credit where credit is due.

Further observation indicates the campus is a pretty safe place. Violent crimes are apparently few and far between — at least according to the most recent DPS statistics.

And, rightfully so if it’s true, university officials sell that sense of safety when recruiting students. “Come to ISU,” they say on the recruiting trail, “where campus crime is minimal, where you’re safe with us.”

It’s puzzling to us, then, why some would have our officers armed with guns. (Campus police officers at the three regent universities do not carry guns.)

But it’s a popular opinion. Ames Police Chief Dennis Ballantine says guns are necessary, as do most DPS officials.

And in all fairness, their points are defensible. They say it’s a matter of officer safety, of being better able to protect the ISU community, of being more of an authority figure in dangerous situations. They also point out that nearly all other campus security forces across the country are armed.

These are points well taken.

We simply think they’re wrong. There’s nothing that proves an armed DPS officer would be more effective in his or her job. For decades, unarmed DPS officers have been able to do their jobs — and do their jobs well.

Yes, the world is a more violent place today, but is putting a gun around the waist of DPS officers really the solution? Giving officers guns implies firearms are needed. But if the campus is such a safe place already, how is that the case?

As for prevention, for protecting the lives of officers, we can only ask again: Does a gun really make things safer? We say it does not. More people will die from gun mishaps than will be saved by using a gun to command authority. It’s easy, and maybe even a little inviting, to say arm our DPS officers. But it’s a notion that brings with it serious consequences. And in our opinion, it would do more harm than good.