Perspective | Police depts join forces to better fight crime

Last Friday, Philadelphia Police captains, community members and proud parents alike gathered in Temple University's McGonigle Hall to recognize the Police Academy's newest graduates.

The 91 officers, after spending this week on traffic control during the World Series, will then be deployed to districts across the city - including several that will require them to work closely with Philadelphia universities.

In the Penn Patrol Zone, the coordination between all police and security organizations is extensive. But on other campuses, differences in university forces cause alternate approaches to their relationships with the Philadelphia Police.

"Policing's really not a one-size-fits-all process," said Lt. Frank Vanore, a Philadelphia Police spokesman. "What works well in the Penn area may not work as well in the LaSalle area or the Temple area."

'All in this together'

Penn and Temple may be at opposite ends of Philadelphia, but the two schools have a lot in common. Both are large universities in urban areas of the city, and both have large police forces.

And while each has its own separate crime issues, they are both characterized by their high levels of collaboration with city police.

On Penn's campus, Penn Police and the Philadelphia Police officers in the University City District work closely to keep the area safe.

"It's so interchangeable with the Philadelphia Police that it's almost like the same organization," said Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, who used to be a Philadelphia Police officer. "We're all in this together."

Some of this teamwork is more casual - weekly meetings to discuss trends and problems or plans to increase security for events like Family Weekend - but the two forces also join up to tackle more serious incidents.

After the recent shooting on 40th and Ludlow streets, in which one man was killed and another was seriously injured, both Penn and Philadelphia developed a new deployment plan to prevent future occurrences in the area, Rush said.

At Temple, teamwork a must

Halfway across the city, the Temple police forces have an "excellent" relationship with Philadelphia Police, said Carl Bittenbender, the executive director of Campus Safety Services at Temple University.

"All my folks . go through the Philadelphia Police academy, and they establish relationships with their officers," he said.

Bittenbender himself has many of these ties - he was a Philadelphia Police officer before he came to Temple in 1996.

Crime trends at Temple are fairly similar to those on Penn's campus - violent crime is "down pretty significantly," while theft has increased, he said.

On Penn's campus, violent crime is down 42 percent this year, but burglaries are up 94 percent and other crimes against property, like thefts, are also up significantly. Bittenbender said exact 2008 figures were not available for Temple.

For Temple police officers, communication is key.

According to Lt. Diane Kenny of the Philadelphia Police's 22nd district - which includes Temple - e-mails go back and forth between the two organizations on a regular basis.

"If either Temple or we see any sort of pattern that would involve Temple, we notify them right away," she said.

Kenny added that the 22nd district is one of several districts in Philadelphia that has received extra police officers due to an increase in the police budget.

These additional officers, she said, were doubled up in patrol cars after Officer Patrick McDonald was shot and killed on duty several blocks from Temple's campus.

But this incident didn't seem to seriously alter students' feelings of safety on campus.

"I don't think it really affects people's outlook too much," said Temple junior Jeff Dempsey. "We have a lot of faith in Temple security."

Temple sophomore Meredith Banks said she doesn't feel unsafe.

"This is probably one of the safest places to be in Philadelphia," she said. "Since police expect the worst here, they really do their best to keep it as safe as possible."

No campus cops? No problem

However, not all universities in Philadelphia are lucky enough - nor deem it necessary - to have the same level of security.

St. Joseph's University, like both Drexel and LaSalle universities, does not have its own police force. Instead, it has 80 security officers who have authority solely on campus.

"We're a lot different here," said Bill Mattioli, director of public safety at St. Joe's.

Since there are no streets running through the main part of campus, Mattioli said, the Philadelphia Police "don't come on campus, because there's nowhere for them to drive."

The lack of streets mostly keeps outside visitors off the main part of campus.

"The only problems we have are when students go off campus," Mattioli said. "That's where we have some crime problems and robberies."

To help with patrolling the off-campus areas where many upperclassmen live, St. Joe's hires four Philadelphia Police officers every night from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

LaSalle is in a similar situation. The university has its own security force that handles much of the on-campus policing, but the Philadelphia Police are mostly responsible for off-campus areas.

LaSalle students expressed a feeling of security on campus, but seemed much more wary of off-campus areas.

"The campus itself, I feel, is pretty safe," said LaSalle sophomore Matthew Zaccagni. "The area around it - not so much."

The school hires two Philadelphia Police officers to patrol the areas around campus, and other Philly officers help out with extra patrols of the area when there are problems, said Capt. John McCloskey of the Philadelphia Police 35th district.

At Drexel, the situation is similar, though it will change in the next few months. Drexel just has a force of security officers, but it will have its own police force by the end of the year, according to Dominic Ceccanecchio, Drexel's head of public safety.

The relationship between Philadelphia Police and Drexel security "is very good . and will be enhanced when they have sworn officers," said Capt. Christine Coulter of the Philadelphia Police 16th district, which includes Drexel's campus.

"There's not a day that goes by that someone from my office doesn't talk to someone from their office," she said.

Coulter added that the Philadelphia Police in the 16th district also work with Penn Police, which is right next to their district.

"We don't recognize any boundaries, because criminals don't recognize any boundaries," she said.

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