University officials are relying heavily on efforts already in place to curb crime following the shooting of Engineering sophomore Mari Oishi early Sunday morning.
Oishi was struck by a stray bullet in the left thigh near the intersection of 38th and Sansom streets at about 2:45 a.m. on Sunday. It was the second shooting on Penn's campus in the past month.
In a statement released on Sunday, University officials highlighted the Nov. 22 creation of a joint task force between the University and Philadelphia police departments that has strategically deployed officers to targeted areas.
The release did not include details about any new Division of Public Safety initiatives in the wake of the shooting.
According to Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush, current crime-fighting measures such as increased patrols and lighting will be continued.
While the numbers and exact areas of the increased deployment were unavailable, Rush said that police have successfully used crime maps to target crime trends, making 86 arrests within the Penn patrol boundary since the initiative was started.
"These [shootings] were both aberrations. ... We certainly are looking at what is going on at the periphery of our patrol boundaries and we are always concerned about any crime whatsoever -- and particularly violent crime," Rush said in an interview on Sunday. "We have been very concerned and we were actually feeling pretty positive about the results of our actions ... since the inception of the task force."
University officials said that the Division of Public Safety's budget had also been increased by $1 million last July and that more money will be allocated to the division as needed.
"We are spending more money as we speak," University President Amy Gutmann said yesterday. "I won't waste money ... but I will spend as much money as is needed for protection."
Rush also spoke about plans to add more cameras and lighting around campus, increase the number of overtime police officers and develop new police technologies.
"We are looking to do more," Gutmann said. "That said, it is impossible to bring crime to zero. Given our environment, there will be occasional acts of random violence somewhere .... My aim is to come as close to zero as humanly possible."
