Officials had long planned to add new officers, but they expedited the increase after last semester's crime wave. Nearing the completion of an intensive, months-long search process, the Division of Public Safety is close to hiring approximately 24 new University Police officers, according to Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. Rush said the new officers -- who will bring the total number of University Police officers to approximately 100 -- will begin patrols by mid-to-late March while participating in a seven-week training process. She added that Public Safety officials had planned the personnel increase as early as the summer of 1995 -- when the University hired Thomas Seamon to replace former University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich -- but sped up the hiring process after last semester's crime wave. Rush explained that although the University planned to hire new officers "certainly before" last September's crime wave, the rash of robberies caused officials to move up the mass hiring. "That process was obviously expedited during the reign of terror of our criminal element," she said. The increase in University Police officers comes amid news of a recent drop in major crimes compared with the same three-month period last year. Rush explained that the new officers should help the department maintain a higher level of visibility while relieving the burden of overtime hours being worked by current officers -- which she said was an important factor in the recent crime decrease. "The fact that we have hired additional officers should eliminate the need for as much overtime as we have been doing," Rush said. And although officers from the Philadelphia Police Department's 18th District currently patrol the area alongside University Police personnel, officials said the new officers will not reduce the number of city police officers inside University Police jurisdiction. The force currently patrols an area extending from 30th to 43th streets, and from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue. "Whatever manpower we have in that area right now will of course remain the same," said Cpl. Jim Pauley, a PPD spokesperson. He added that hiring new officers should benefit everyone in the University community. "The higher visibility of more uniformed officers will certainly be beneficial to the students and teachers and citizens in the University of Pennsylvania area," Pauley said. The exact number of University Police officers, however, has recently come into question. Several University Police sources have said the department currently employs approximately 80 uniformed officers, but a Fraternal Order of Police report from last November put that number at only 54 -- two-thirds of the officials' estimate. Additionally, University Police officers have been working without a contract since August 1, and ongoing negotiations have failed to produce an agreement. Rush explained that the new officers -- some fresh out of the police academy -- will undergo seven weeks of training and will be on probation for a year. Officers will work each of the department's three eight-hour shifts for two weeks apiece and will also take one week of classes focusing on academic and administrative matters as well as various aspects of the University. Rush had noted earlier this month that "tons of very, very professional applicants" applied for the new positions. Prospective hires had to pass a written test and undergo an interview, background check, physical examination and psychological evaluation.
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