When I first started work with Hollins University, we were unarmed SCOPs.  Unarmed was the choice of the institution, not the officers.  After SCOP was placed under DCJS Regulatory Affairs, our commisions were disolved and we never persued SCOP again, partly due to the costs associated.

Since probably most of the SCOPS in the Commonwealth now are municipal employees (animal control) or campus security officers (school security officers are prohibited from obtaining SCOP), and since private security officers do not need SCOP commisions, it would make better sense to move SCOP over to Law Enforcement Services like the Campus Security Officer program is, and prohibit private security from obtaining SCOP commissions.  Regional Academies could provide a better level of training for SCOPs.  Regional Academies would be a better source of training for Campus Security Officers as well, as we currently get 16 hours of Initial Training with 16 hours of in-service training every two years, and this will have to increase to many more initial hours as this career field gets even more complicated.  16 hours is way under-training for officers that 'police' a college campus as my officers do, as we have no Campus Police Department and are the only ones patrolling the campus and responding to calls-for-service 24/7/365, since local police only come on campus when called for a law enforcement function.