The Division of Public Safety has developed a strategic plan for the University's police department and security services that integrates advanced security technology and professional training with a community policing philosophy.

The plan, published in today's Almanac by Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon, is "intended to serve as a road map for the department for the next three to five years as we move forward with our goal of delivering the best safety services possible to the Penn community."

"The plan will be reviewed and re-evaluated each year, to determine what is working, what can work better, and what needs to be changed. I view this as a living document, a work in progress, and will continue to welcome the ideas and suggestions of the Penn community," Seamon said.

Seamon defines community policing as a philosophy in which the police "adopt a service orientation toward everyone who lives, works and visits their area, thereby entering into a partnership with their customers to set priorities for safety services."

The plan sets goals for the department in four areas: police, security, community and government. Calling all four "critical to a successful Public Safety program at Penn," the plan offers recommendations for improvements in each area.

Of the four, Seamon identified Penn's security-technology and guard-services sectors as "holding the greatest promise for achieving significant improvements in safety and security" for the entire University community.

The present security systems on campus include alarm systems, access-control systems, blue-light phones, and a very limited use of closed-circuit television. These systems are supplemented by security guards. However, these areas could be coordinated more effectively.

Among the recommendations for enhanced security systems are development of a state-of-the-art electronic security infrastructure for the campus, which would include: new alarm systems, a more-effective access-control system, enhanced use of closed-circuit television, and an upgrade of the blue-light phone system--to be managed by the Public Safety Division; and improved performance of contract guards on campus by partnering eventually with a single security-guard company that would be monitored by, and work in collaboration with, the Public Safety Division.

"The wave of the future for safety services nationwide--whether it be in a large urban environment, a university or a rural setting--is in the use of advanced technologies, along with partnerships between the public and private sectors," Executive Vice President John Fry noted. "We want to be in the forefront of this movement at Penn. Demand for safety services is infinite, but resources are not. That is why we must take advantage of innovative technologies and creative collaborations to enhance our efforts."

In the area of police, the proposals include improving the professional standards and performance of the University Police through an intensive training and career-development program; acquiring advanced equipment; and achieving national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a consortium of four major law-enforcement organizations that has developed a set of law-enforcement standards. It is estimated that only 2 percent of the nation's police departments have achieved accreditation.

"In seeking national accreditation, we will first undergo an intensive self-assessment to see if we comply with all established law-enforcement standards," Seamon said. "Once we complete the self-assessment, the outside group will conduct its own evaluation. If we receive accreditation, it shows that we have benchmarked our organization with the best in the country. We are very excited about undertaking this project."

Other proposals include expanding the University's new student safety orientation programs; providing the University Police department with the technology to participate in the Philadelphia Police Department's computerized information network; expanding the detective division; and acquiring a new Public Safety facility comprising a command, control and communications center that would coordinate all safety and security operations at Penn.

The Division of Public Safety Strategic Plan is published in the March 26, 1996, issue of the Almanac. It is also available electronically on the Almanac's Web site at http://www.upenn.edu/almanac. A limited number of full reports with appendices are available at the Division of Public Safety, 3914 Locust Walk.

Return to Compass Features for March 26, 1996