Six police forces overlap in West Philly

While there has been some opposition to arming University Police officers with semiautomatic weapons, five other police forces operating in West Philadelphia already use handguns. University Police will be the last of the area's six police forces -- which includes Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Housing Authority and Amtrak police --Eto use semiautomatic weapons. The largest forces in the area belong to the Philadelphia Police Department, whose 18th district is responsible for University City and the University. SEPTA has its own police force and stations approximately 25 officers in the area between 40th and 45th streets. The officers patrol the elevated subway system and travel in subway cars to protect passengers. SEPTA Police Chief Richard Evans said his officers "have sporadic interaction with the University Police." "We want to be aware of what's going on around campus in case it affects what we're doing," he said. The Postal Police force is responsible for patrolling postal offices and surrounding property. And although the force consists of 85 officers, there is not a set amount of personnel stationed in University City. Instead, the officers roam between stations to insure that post offices and employees are secure. The Philadelphia Housing Authority protects its sites with a separate police force as well -- although the officers' jurisdiction is limited to PHA developments and housing sites. PHA spokesperson John Gargiulo explained that the housing police patrol seven West Philadelphia locations and have approximately ten officers on duty in the area. Amtrak's 30th Street Station is the site of the Amtrak Police force's national headquarters. The officers are responsible for patrolling the station, trains and all other Amtrak property. Although the Amtrak transit police jurisdiction differs from other police forces, the officers go through similar training and have the same rights as all other police officers, according to Amtrak spokesperson Maureen Gehrity. "Most people don't think of transit police as the same as other police officers," said Gehrity. "But they have the same duties and obligations." With so many different police forces operating in the area, University Police officials said cooperation between the different departments is essential. "We have an open and extensive relationship with all of these agencies," Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said. She said University officers exchange many types of information with the different forces, including crime patterns and quality of life issues. And Managing Director of Public Safety Thomas Seamon created a University City Public Safety group last year with the aim of increasing communication between the different agencies in the area. The group brings together all six forces in the area, as well as security personnel from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Hospital. Rush said the purpose of the group is to share information and to formulate crime prevention strategies for the area.