Bookstore employee Shannon Sherrod distributing the safety guide to history student Angela Minissale
The University has enhanced its numerous safety programs this year, including increasing police and security guards, introducing new security technologies, and expanding campus transit services. Another area of emphasis has been crime prevention and safety education.
To help in this effort Ira A. Lipman, chairman of the board and president of Guardsmark, Inc., the fifth largest security services company in the country, provided copies of his well-regarded safety handbook for free distribution on campus.
Lipman provided 10,000 copies of "How to Protect Yourself from Crime." The book is a rich compendium of crime prevention strategies and techniques designed to increase personal safety and reduce a person's likelihood of becoming a crime victim.
An expert on security issues, Lipman is frequently quoted in the national media, has appeared in the broadcast media and has published editorials in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He has written extensively for the public on a wide range of security topics and contributes regularly to the professional literature of the security field.
Lipman is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School. Two of his sons are graduates of Penn. He founded Guardsmark, Inc., in 1963. The company operates 105 branch offices in the United States, serves organizations in more than 400 cities, employs 12,000 people and provides security services to numerous Fortune 1000 companies.
"Mr. Lipman was extremely generous and we are very grateful to him," said Executive Vice President John Fry. "His book is an extraordinary resource, and I'm certain that our students, faculty and staff will benefit greatly from it."
In a foreword to the book, Penn Professor of Criminology and Law Marvin Wolfgang characterized the handbook as, "The best antidote to criminal victimization I can recommend to my family, my friends and all citizens of America."
The book, which first appeared in hardback in 1975 and is currently in its third edition, contains extensive detail for minimizing an individual's risk of being victimized, covering such areas as school and campus safety; the most effective door and window locks; special tips for apartment dwellers; telephone safety; vehicle safety; safety in the streets; safety while shopping, on vacation and traveling; neighborhood crime prevention; robbery prevention and defense; and planning for an emergency.
The book is being distributed at the Bookstore and several other locations.
Return to Compass Features for April 22, 1997