Expert: Security plan looks promising

University President Amy Gutmann's plan to increase campus security is garnering positive responses from crime experts.

But the effectiveness of her $5 million initiative to enhance security will depend on how quickly lighting can be installed and officers can be deployed, said Lawrence Sherman, the director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at Penn.

The initiative involves increasing the number of Penn Police officers by 20 percent, the number of security guards by 50 percent and spending between $2 to 3 million on lighting, cameras and emergency phones.

The changes will be in place "absolutely by the end of the semester," according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Sherman said that money should not be an issue when it comes to safety on campus, and he praised the willingness of administrators to spend liberally.

He added that no research suggests negative consequences due to increasing police shifts to 12 hours from eight hours until new officers can be hired and trained, as called for by the plan.

"It's not like being a truck driver, whose job is monotonous," Sherman said, adding he would rather have some police officers who were tired than no extra security coverage at all.

"There is precedent" for increasing police officer shifts, he said. "It's not by any means an extreme approach."

The announcement of the plan came just days after Engineering sophomore Mari Oishi was struck by a stray bullet near 38th and Walnut streets.

A rash of violent crime has surrounded the plan's announcement. A Penn graduate student was recently attacked at 41st and Delancey streets, and a Drexel graduate student was beaten by four West Philadelphia high school students on Friday.

The importance of earmarking money for lighting should not be understated, Sherman said, adding that the entire $5 million should not pay for additional officers because new manpower is a long-term expense.

"When you are looking at the cost of putting in a light, it's a one-time expenditure," Sherman said. "When you look at hiring more police officers, you are looking at very high annual costs."

He also said that the new lighting projects will dramatically help to deter crime in and around Penn's campus -- a point that was echoed by Temple University's Deputy Director of Campus Safety Services Charles Leone, who oversees safety in a similar urban environment in North Philadelphia.

"I totally believe the lighting will help the situation" at Penn, Leone said. But he added that "there is no better way to deter crime than to have [officers] there deterring it."

Leone also advised the University to reach out to its partners and community for help.

Penn's partners in combating crime include the energy company PECO -- which is installing the new lighting -- the Philadelphia Department of Streets and the Philadelphia Police Department.

Rush said that phase one of the lighting project -- installing sidewalk illumination on Pine Street between 40th and 43rd streets -- was completed before winter break, calling this a sign that the safety initiative is not a knee-jerk reaction to the recent crime spike but part of a longer-term plan.

Phase two -- lighting the 24-block area between 40th and 43rd streets bounded by Market Street and Baltimore Avenue -- was initiated in December but is ongoing.

Phase three will examine and adjust as necessary Penn Police patrols on campus and upgrade current lighting to provide better illumination.

The most recent phases will be paid for out of the $2 to 3 million the plan sets aside for lighting, cameras and emergency phones.

Curbing crime - Criminology professor Lawrence Sherman praised a$5 million initiative to make Penn's campus safer - Sherman said the effectiveness of the program depends on how quickly it is implemented - Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said all changes should be in place by the end of the semester

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.