Security varies across Phila. universities

Although campus safety remains a controversial issue throughout the University community, Penn employs a security force larger than that of Drexel and Villanova combined. And many other Philadelphia-area universities don't even have their own police forces. The University has a full-time police department of approximately 80 officers, according to a high-ranking source who requested anonymity, in addition to deploying over 190 private security guards around campus. Drexel University, by comparison, does not employ any police officers on its campus, according to Drexel Director of Public Safety Rick Cottom. He explained that Drexel does employ approximately 80 security guards from SpectaGuard -- the same firm Penn uses for security around campus and in residential housing. None of the Drexel officers are armed, and they don't have the jurisdiction to make arrests. Cottom added that Drexel faculty and students have long debated the merits of instituting an accredited police force. The university has chosen not to do so because of its low on-campus crime rate, according to Cottom. He cited Drexel's proximity to Penn as one reason for the low numbers. "[The Penn community is] our buffer to West Philadelphia," he said. He explained that the large amount of activity on-and- around Penn's campus may contribute to Drexel's lower crime rate. While Drexel does offer many security services similar to those offered by Penn -- such as bike patrols, walking and riding escort and emergency blue-light phones -- Cottom described the Drexel's lack of an actual police force as a "touchy subject" among Drexel students. "At Penn you pick up the phone if there's a problem, and you have a very fast [police] response time," Cottom said. "We can't be sure of that." Villanova University also does not have a police force, although Director of Public Safety Jeffrey Horton noted that many of the school's 70 security officers are police academy graduates. Villanova offers bike patrols and emergency blue light phones, but unlike Drexel -- which doesn't have any residential security officers -- Villanova also deploys housing security guards in female and coed dormitories. Horton said that because Villanova is in a low-crime suburban area, students tend to feel safe on campus. He stressed that Penn "has to deal with much more than the rest of us are involved in," adding that although crime is less frequent at Villanova than at city schools, including Penn, "I don't think it's because of anything we're doing." Located in North Philadelphia, Temple University's security measures most closely resemble those at Penn. The school employs 123 certified police officers in addition to 89 private security guards. Temple Police Officer Robert Lovell explained that Temple and Penn are two of the only four schools in the state -- the others are the University of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania State University's flagship campus -- whose officers must be certified by the Municipal Police Officer Training and Education Commission. He said such certification requires the Penn and Temple police departments to abide by more state mandates than at other schools, but gives their officers legal jurisdiction like arrest powers that other schools' officers don't enjoy. Lovell said Temple students have security concerns similar to those at Penn, but added that "the perception is a lot worse than the reality of crime here -- physical crime is very low." Public Safety officials at other universities praised efforts by the Penn police and security agencies, while acknowledging the difficulty of ensuring campus security. "My opinion is that the folks there are going in the right direction," Horton said. "They have a hard job."