The task force examining the relationship between the Department of Public Safety and black males on campus is preparing to put out a report on the University's progress.
The Ad Hoc Committee for Safety in a Diverse Environment met for the fourth time yesterday to revise its policy recommendations for the DPS.
Interim Provost Peter Conn, who is chairman of the committee, said the group has completed a rough draft of its report. But he declined to comment on its specific suggestions for the DPS.
Committee members expect to issue the report in the coming weeks.
University President Amy Gutmann has charged the group -- formed in response to the Penn Police's mistaken apprehension of College sophomore Warith Deen Madyun in November -- with improving the relationship between the University's police force and people of color.
Madyun was part of a group of four males who fit the description of a group reported for theft. Police detained the group, but did not arrest them once their innocence was confirmed.
The report is "a combination of a broad contextual statement and of some concrete recommendations," Conn said.
Conn added that one of the central goals is to make DPS administrators available to members of the Penn community.
The committee is "developing mechanisms or processes that provide community members with access to administrative oversight," Conn said, and he added that this communication would keep DPS officials aware of complaints against Penn Police officers.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush -- who also serves on the committee -- said that she welcomed comments about the Penn Police.
"We don't mean to be secretive," Rush said. "It's just that we're really busy. We are always open to constructive critiques."
Rush added that Penn's police officers are conscious of the diversity on campus.
"We believe that the police that are here today are here not just because they happened to get a job here," Rush said. "They're chosen specially."
Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey, who also sits on the committee, said that Madyun's apprehension was not evidence of DPS policy failures.
"We're looking at isolated incidents that happened, not a systematic problem," he said.
College sophomore and committee member Ibraheem Basir said the report's effectiveness could only be gauged after several months.
"The only way to measure success is by waiting," Basir said. "If incidents like this continue to happen, obviously we've failed once again."
Conn said he was pleased with the committee's pace and expected to meet Gutmann's late-February deadline.
