Award honors video surveillance

College may be a time of independence, but Penn students walking between 33rd and 40th streets and Walnut and Spruce streets are never really alone.

Thanks to an extensive video policing program, people walking on Penn's campus are constantly under surveillance.

It was for this, in addition to an expansion of its community patrols, that Penn earned the Clery Campus Safety Award, presented on Friday.

"This award recognizes the challenges facing our universities and their real world responses," Howard Clery Jr. said in his speech. "It's the response that we're focusing on. [Penn has] set a noteworthy tone for campuses nationwide."

"It's a challenge and response," Clery said, commending Penn for its efforts to improve safety. But "it doesn't mean [Penn] is the safest school."

Along with his wife Connie, Clery presented the award -- given annually to one or more universities, as well as to individuals -- to University President Judith Rodin, in memory of their daughter Jeanne Ann, who was murdered in 1986 in her Lehigh University dormitory room.

Penn has seen a decline in crime over the past several years. According to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, the number of reported campus crimes is 23 percent lower overall than it was at this time last year. More specifically, bike theft has fallen by 45 percent, all other thefts have fallen by 39 percent, burglary has fallen by 7 percent and aggravated assault has decreased by 7 percent. However, theft from auto has seen a rise of 40 percent, something that University police attribute, in part, to a citywide cycle of crime.

One month after Rodin became president in 1994, a graduate student was murdered just several blocks off campus.

At the award ceremony, Rodin explained her efforts following that incident to increase safety on Penn's campus and in the surrounding community.

Under her administration, collaborative efforts such as those with the University City District have helped to improve campus safety.

"Preventing and fighting crime" is a partnership project, Rodin said.

This award is a "tribute to our neighbors... our partners," she continued. "We're very, very grateful for the award."

The particular improvements for which Penn was recognized, involve the placement of over 400 cameras on campus, 295 security officers -- both fixed and roaming -- and 98 sworn police officers.

The cameras are viewed by dispatchers in the PENNCOM laboratory at 4040 Chestnut Street 24 hours a day. They enable speedy police reaction to suspicious behavior around campus.

With the recent passing of move-in weekend, Rush discussed the apprehension of parents as they leave their children, and how these new technologies help alleviate some of their anxiety.

"Parents are entrusting their most precious gift -- we never take this lightly," she said. "Everyone at Penn... [is] here to keep everyone safe."

"You have a responsibility to protect the people who sleep on your property," Connie Clery said.

In her speech, Rush promised to "continue to deliver."

Penn will "keep ever mindful of creating a supportive, safe environment in which our future leaders can prosper," she said.

The Clery Award was also presented to the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut for establishing a personal alarm system that gives each student a hand-held buzzer that connects him to the safety department.

Additionally, Kate Dieringer, a Georgetown University student who was the victim of sexual assault, earned the Clery Award for her role in lobbying school administrators to be more stringent in their policies surrounding rape.

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