Plan for security heavy on lighting

With five million more dollars devoted to combating crime, the University is pursuing a three-phase plan to improve safety on campus.

Gutmann pledged the 22 percent budget increase for the Division of Public Safety on Sunday, citing the need to fight higher crime rates in the University City area.

The plan calls for new street lighting, security cameras and emergency phones across campus. Public Safety officials are also planning to increase the Penn Police force by 20 percent and the number of security guards by 50 percent.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said the initial phases of the plan are already being put into action, and the initiative is drawing a mix of optimism and caution from students.

The first phase of the lighting project, which has already been completed, was to install a second lamp on street lights to illuminate the sidewalks on Pine Street between 40th and 43rd streets.

The second phase is to install sidewalk illumination in the area between 40th and 43rd streets and Market Street and Baltimore Avenue -- an area of roughly 24 blocks.

Phase three of the initiative calls for the entire Penn Police patrol zone -- the area stretching from 30th to 43rd Street and from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue -- to be examined and adjusted as necessary. Existing lighting in this area will be outfitted with more powerful fixtures to better illuminate pedestrian walkways.

Phases two and three are currently under way, Rush wrote in an e-mail.

Rush said that support for the new safety steps is strong.

"The reaction has been extremely positive," Rush wrote. "Students and parents are gratified to know that the University places safety and security paramount on their list of priorities."

Among students, the initiative has been greeted with tentative confidence.

"I will definitely feel safer if I see some more security guards when I'm walking home from the library," Nursing freshman Jessica Bruno said, adding that she has been seriously considering using a walking escort ever since Engineering sophomore Mari Oishi was struck in the leg by a stray bullet.

"My parents have been on campus a couple of times with me and they have told me they haven't felt safe walking around by themselves," Bruno added.

College senior and Undergraduate Assembly Chairwoman Rachel Fersh praised the University's plan but also cautioned that there is no guarantee money will solve the crime problem.

"I think the administration is putting their money where their mouth is," Fersh said, adding that "it all remains to be seen.

"It's possible that the extra money won't do anything if there is a group of kids that decided they want to beat up on Penn kids."

Safety plan - Street lamps will be installed between 40th and 43rd streets and Market Street and Baltimore Avenue - Existing lighting in the Penn Police patrol zone will be outfitted with more powerful lamps

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