Fighting crime, one bike at a time

Penn Police officials want to interact with more West Philadelphia youth - before they commit crimes.

Despite juvenile arrests in connection with two of the four robberies that occurred in the Penn Police patrol area in February and high juvenile-crime rates citywide, Division of Public Safety officials say their proactive approach to the issue is working to curb juvenile crime on and near campus.

Juvenile crime became a pressing issue for Penn Police in the fall of 2005, when at least 10 robberies and one assault occurred over the course of about a month. Many of those crimes involved juvenile suspects.

And, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, juvenile-robbery arrests citywide were at a five-year high in 2006, with 1,192.

But Penn Police chief Mark Dorsey said the most recent robberies committed by juveniles in February are "not symptomatic" of a larger crisis on campus.

"We believe our proactive approach is addressing that type of crime," he said.

Aspects of this approach include the Police Athletic League, which offers various educational and recreational programs, as well as the monitoring of truancy and curfew, he said.

These methods, Dorsey said, consist of "really getting involved with kids so we see them other than when they're in trouble."

This approach can be effective in changing kids' perceptions of police officers, Criminology professor Jeffrey Roth said.

"Any police department can play a useful role in prevention by meeting with lots of kids," he said. "You'll never get them to think of cops as friends, but, if you can get kids out of the pattern of thinking of cops as enemies and get them out of the don't-snitch mode, those programs can be pretty effective."

Penn Police Capt. Joe Fischer said the department examines all crime in the area to determine appropriate responses to offenses largely committed by juveniles.

For example, when police determined that juveniles were responsible for many bicycle thefts, the department began a program that provided bicycles as well as bike safety and maintenance lessons to kids, he said.

The benefits of the program are two-fold, Fischer said: The juveniles no longer have a need to steal bicycles and are given an opportunity to interact with police in a positive environment.

Dorsey said the bike program and other youth-engagement initiatives directed by the Civic House and fraternities and sororities all contribute to keeping juveniles away from crime.

"It really pays off," he said.

Charles Leone, deputy director of Temple University's Campus Safety Services, agreed that joint efforts work well in fighting juvenile crime.

"The best thing to do is to form coalitions and collaborations," he said.

The approach of engaging youth is effective because it keeps kids out of situations in which they are likely to commit crimes, Fischer said.

"Juvenile crimes are crimes of opportunity," he said. "It's, 'Let's do something and hope we get away with it.'"

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