Continuing a downward trend, crime decreased by 23 percent this summer, according to University Police statistics.
During the months of May, June, July and August, there were 374 reports of robberies, burglaries, assaults and thefts -- down from 488 over the same time period last year.
"I think we've been steadily implementing all of our programs and have not wavered when things have been looking good," Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.
Rush, who served as University police chief until May, attributed the department's success to many factors, including its education initiatives.
"We've always been extremely proactive with education," Rush said. "We try to teach incoming students safety right off the bat." The division, she added, is stepping up its education drive this year with a new video that has been airing on ResNet.
All major crimes decreased this summer, except for burglary. This year, 37 incidents were reported, compared with 35 last year.
But Deputy Chief of Investigations William Danks attributed the increase to one incident in August which involved seven break-ins.
"Last month, an entire apartment house was broken into," Danks said. "All seven apartments were broken into at one time."
Because there were seven complainants, and technically seven locations where the incident occurred, the one burglary had to be recorded for each apartment, Danks explained.
Of the other major crimes, the most dramatic decrease was seen in the occurrence of assault, which decreased 43 percent from 23 reported cases last summer to 13 this summer.
Danks attributed the success in this area to an increased police presence in the department's jurisdiction, especially west of campus between 40th and 43rd streets.
"We've increased patrols and we have more plainclothes units out there," Danks said.
Thefts, which are by far the most common crime the University Police deal with, decreased by 25 percent this summer from 407 reported cases last year to 306 this year.
Like Rush, Danks said that education was to thank for such a decrease in crime across the board.
"If you look over a whole period of time there's been a big decrease because of the safety presentations we do," Danks said. "People are more aware of their surroundings."
Officers, Danks added, are more aware as well.
According to Danks, many burglaries occur because people leave their doors unlocked. To prevent burglaries, police officers will frequently knock on the doors of those buildings they see have open doors.
"Our police officers will sometimes go up to a building whose door is open and get somebody down and tell them to close the door," Danks said.
Rush said this tactic, which is also practiced by Penn's security guards and University City District safety ambassadors, is very effective.
"What we want is to make sure is to take a moment [to educate] those tenants," Rush said. "Our officers understand they're here not to react to crime, but to prevent crime."
