Forum addresses campus safety

With a rash of violent crimes taking place in and around the University in past weeks, University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said last night that the increasing violent nature of many crimes can be traced to recent societal pressures. Kuprevich related incidents of mass shootings around the country and said they "now occur once a week." He added that factors like a bad economy and a lack of "family values" have created an environment where crime is even encouraged. "That says something is wrong with our whole society," Kuprevich told a group of about a dozen students last night. "It all leads back to society somehow -- and how [crime] is addressed." Kuprevich, along with Vice President for Business Services Steven Murray, Assistant Director of Residential Services Joe Kirk and Victim Support and Special Services employee John Wiley, spoke as part of the Undergraduate Assembly's Safety and Security Forum at Stiteler Hall. The two-hour forum touched on the issues of on-campus security, the objectives of Escort Service and placing checks on McGinn Security Services guards. Kuprevich explained that the robbery which took place near the High Rises last Sunday was not the fault of his department. He added that the officers on patrol during that time were in the process of arresting two other people in an unrelated incident. "That night we had sufficient staffing," Kuprevich said. "People were out there doing their jobs -- effectively doing their jobs." Murray said Escort ridership has increased dramatically in the past year. Some nights the service handles over 1,600 passengers, he said. But Kuprevich said he is afraid that students are taking advantage of the system which was "originally designed for safety." "The Escort service has to define its area and its property," Kuprevich said. Joe Kirk, who directs safety for West campus, said his office is working to make sure the guards of McGinn stay awake on the job -- after photos in the Daily Pennsylvanian showed some guards sleeping during working hours. He said better education of the McGinn guards is a goal of the University. That education will come in an "enhanced" training manual for the guards, who previously did not have much "hard-copy background," Kirk added. Of the 13 people attending the forum, many were UA members. But UA member Mark Frederick, who set up the program, said the program was still valuable. "We talked for a good two hours," the Wharton junior said. "It was helpful for everyone."