EDITORIAL: Our Commissioner

The new University PoliceThe new University Policecommissioner must haveThe new University Policecommissioner must haveexperience and leadershipThe new University Policecommissioner must haveexperience and leadershipskills in order to beThe new University Policecommissioner must haveexperience and leadershipskills in order to besuccessful.The new University Policecommissioner must haveexperience and leadershipskills in order to besuccessful.___________________________ The issue again returns to the forefront as the University works to pick a successor to University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich, who resigned last month. It is vital that the next University Police commissioner have the qualities necessary to lead the University Police force and successfully protect the campus community. The new commissioner should have recent urban police experience in order to maintain credibility with his or her officers. Hopefully, he or she will have worked as a Philadelphia Police officer or be familiar with Philadelphia Police so that strong ties can be cemented between the two police forces. Communication and cooperation between these units would greatly improve security in the surrounding area. The person who will replace Kuprevich must also be more visible on campus. The new police head should be interactive with students in order to pinpoint their concerns and fears, and then work to improve safety in those areas. The next police commissioner should be a strong leader so that he or she can expeditiously drive the new security initiatives through to completion. The commissioner will have to coordinate and oversee the new security kiosks and the designated Community Walks -- major campus arteries that will receive special monitoring. The next director of the University Police force must develop a method to integrate all security forces from different buildings and departments. Wharton, Annenberg, the Law School and many others have contracted their own security for their own buildings. This fragmentation of security only leads to inconsistent coverage throughout campus. An important quality that this new administrator must have is fairness. The next police head must be judicious. He or she should support University Police officers to the fullest, but also take accusations of misconduct seriously. The selection of a new University Police commissioner is an important and difficult decision. But unless this new administrator receives the full support of the University, he of she is doomed to failure. In order to provide the opportunity for success, the University should build a new, modern police facility, purchase better, more state-of-the-art equipment, and overall be more responsive to the officers' needs. Without an improved facility and better equipment, the selection of a new commissioner is insignificant.