Penn President Amy Gutmann, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush and other Penn administrators will meet with Philadelphia Mayor John Street and some of his staff at City Hall Thursday to discuss crime issues affecting Penn.
Gutmann spoke with Street last Monday to discuss concerns about a recent "uptick in crime," Rush said, and to begin involving city officials in seeking short- and long-term solutions.
Street and Gutmann decided to convene a meeting of top Penn and city officials -- including Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson -- to discuss the matter in greater depth, Rush said.
Gutmann and Rush -- who will be accompanied by Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, Vice President for Government Community Relations Vanda McMurtry and others -- hope to gain a better understanding of "what the city is doing for the issues facing Penn."
Robberies have increased on campus and throughout the city, which is one of the reasons that Rush feels that the meeting -- which will not be open to the public or media -- is important.
Rush said she has consistently emphasized the partnership between the Penn Division of Public Safety and Philadelphia Police in combating crime, especially regarding sharing information about crime patterns and intelligence.
The meeting will focus, in part, on longer-range planning for security around Penn.
It is unclear whether Thursday night's incident outside the Alpha Chi Omega sorority's Big Man on Campus philanthropic event at World Cafe Live -- at which Philadelphia Police officers allegedly assaulted Penn students as they attempted to gain control of an unruly crowd -- will be on the agenda for the meeting.
-- Andrew Whitney
