While September 2003 saw a rash of crimes, including 12 robberies, this past September has been a relatively quiet month for the campus police.
Over the course of the month, there was only one reported robbery.
"September is generally our busy month," Penn Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Bill Danks said. "In past years, there have been a good five or six" robberies.
Danks said he was especially pleased with this September, because there generally is not a decline in crime until later in the school year, once new students have adjusted to life on an urban campus.
"We looked at areas where last year we got beat up a little bit, particularly on the west side of campus," Danks said, adding that these areas received extra attention this year.
According to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, there are now "a whole lot more people on bike patrol and a whole lot more people on walk patrol" in these potentially problematic areas.
Rush also said that since mid-August there have been police officers working overtime in preparation for New Student Orientation and the bump in crime that generally accompanies it. Plainclothes detectives were also on duty and roaming the streets.
There was also an additional increase in the amount of overlap and coordination between the Penn Police Department, the University City ambassadors -- who wear bright yellow jackets -- and the Philadelphia City Police.
"We had a terrific move-in month," University President Amy Gutmann said. "I had spoken to Maureen Rush early on about what she and her department and everybody else with whom she coordinates [were going to do] ... and they've been doing a great job. It's really shown how few incidents there have been."
Lawrence Sherman, director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology, described the high crime rate of September 2003 as an aberration to the norm, calling it a "blip."
He explained that, because Penn's crime rate has been steady and, in his opinion, good over the last few years, he viewed last September as a simple example of chaotic distribution of events gone awry.
In reference to this year, however, Gutmann said, "I also give credit to our students, staff and faculty, who are very aware of the issues that have existed in the past and have really taken steps to overcome them."
David Fox, director of New Student Orientation, said that he believes one of the reasons for the decrease in crime was the existence of the Peers Helping Incoming New Students program.
"They were much more involved in helping students move in," Fox said, adding that he believed that their presence made things on campus easier to find, decreasing the number of new students who were wandering around by themselves.
Gutmann said that, despite the decrease in crime, she would like to "have more lighting around the perimeter of where our students live at night. These are city streets where we don't have jurisdiction, but we're really moving forward in that regard."
