There are a few important things to note about the message sent today to members of the Penn community about crime and safety. First, we see that in addition to Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, the message was sent by Provost Vincent Price and we want to express our sympathies to Mr. Price for the innumerable cheesy and ghoulish impersonations he's undoubtedly been subject to whenever he's mentioned his name. Second, the message begins: "In recent weeks there have been several armed robberies on or near the Penn campus that have raised concerns about safety. We write to let you know of some of the steps that the University is taking in response."
The entire message follows. We have bolded the sentences that indicate the new steps.
Ensuring a safe campus environment is one of our highest priorities at Penn. The University has committed extensive resources to make sure that faculty, staff, students and visitors feel safe not only when they are on campus, but also in adjacent areas. We are very proud of the professionalism of our own Division of Public Safety (which was recently ranked the top university security force in the country for the sixth consecutive year) and greatly appreciate the close cooperation and support that the campus receives from the Philadelphia Police Department. While it is not uncommon for cities across the country to see an uptick in crime near the holidays, the recent robberies have caused us to initiate new measures to lessen the likelihood of this recurring. Effective this week you will see additional Penn Police officers, Philadelphia Police and Allied Barton security officers around campus. Numerous additional overtime shifts have been added and other patrols have been redeployed to higher risk areas to ensure a visible police presence that we hope will deter any criminal activity. In addition, undercover police will be monitoring any suspicious activity around campus. We have also increased CCTV Virtual Video Patrols through our 120 Pan, Tilt, Zoom CCTV cameras on- and off-campus.
The Division of Public Safety will continue to ensure the highest level of safety and security for our community.
Also, we remind you that everyone at Penn has free access to Walking and Riding Escorts, and we encourage their use.
If you have not done so, please take a moment to sign up for the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System as well as the Penn Guardian System, which can help Police better find your location in an emergency.
UPennAlert and Penn Guardian System Registration Links:
Visit: http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/upennalert for information on how to register for UPennAlert.
Visit: http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/pennguardian for information on the Penn Guardian system.
Visit: http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/getpennguardian to register for Penn Guardian.
Contact Information:
Emergencies: 215/573-3333 or 511 (from any campus phone)
Special Services: 215/898-6600
Escort Services: Walking 215/898-WALK (9255)
Penn Transit Ride Service 215/898-RIDE (7433)
General Information: 215/898-7297
We wish everyone on campus a safe and joyous holiday break.