The Division of Public Safety recently is taking steps to increase communication with students, specifically students of color.
The initiatives could cost up to $90,000 this year.
The decisions are a response to the report issued by the Ad Hoc Committee on Safety in a Diverse Environment, which met over the past two months to address the the relationship between the DPS and black males on campus.
The committee was formed after College sophomore Warith Deen Madyun was stopped and questioned by Penn Police last November. Madyun raised some controversy over how police handled the incident, resulting in the committee. Madyun was part of a group of four males who fit the description of individuals involved in a cell phone theft. They were released when the confusion dissipated.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush released the DPS response to the committee on March 16. It addresses both ongoing and upcoming initiatives.
New plans to bridge the communication gap between minority students and the DPS include a multi-year diversity training program for all members of the department and efforts to bring in the Police Executive Research Forum -- an organization dedicated to improving policing through research -- to assist in analyzing investigative data. Additionally, the DPS will hold monthly discussions for students to talk about safety issues with the DPS.
The diversity training -- which will be spearheaded by a national organization and will span several years -- will begin April 4, when trainers will meet with several focus groups at Penn.
"The whole purpose of [April] 4 is that the trainers will ... tailor a program that will be specific to Penn," Rush said.
Also, in response to the Ad Hoc Committee's discussions, the DPS is recruiting a consultant from the Washington-based PERF to help analyze data on vehicle and pedestrian stops.
However, Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey said that such data have always been analyzed on a monthly basis and that the consultant will simply serve as an additional resource.
In regard to increasing communication with students, the forums will be held the second Tuesday of each month. The first meeting was held last week.
"It went well," Dorsey said. "The [Undergraduate Assembly] had a meeting, so students were here. Refreshments were served, and there was a dialogue about possible focus groups."
Both Rush and Dorsey emphasized the initiatives as components of a larger plan to incorporate student opinion into plans for public safety.
"The main focus is to make sure that everyone in the community, particularly students of color, is aware of the role of public safety ... and make sure that the officers are aware of the concerns and fears of the community, particularly students of color," Rush said.
