Perspective | Sizing up the Penn Patrol Zone | Interactive feature

Since 1975, the boundaries of the Penn Police Patrol Zone haven't budged: north to south from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and east to west from 30th to 43rd streets.

But rising rent prices close to campus and West Philadelphia's improving image have spurred a swelling Penn community west of the Penn Patrol Zone's 43rd Street boundary.

And in the wake of the recent robbery and sexual assault of two Penn students at 44th and Spruce streets, many Penn students are asking whether it's time the Penn Police Patrol Zone extends farther west.

Student safety at Penn originally took the form of a uniformed security force, which operated out of the bottom floor of Ware College House, said Capt. Gerry Leddy, who has worked for the University Police Department since 1981.

However, a string of rapes and sexual assaults on Penn students in the late 1960s and early 1970s generated strong calls for additional protective measures.

In response to the outcry, this security force in 1972 began putting its most able security guards through the municipal police training program in Collegeville, Pa., resulting in a composite security force made up of both certified police officers and security guards.

Then, in 1975, Penn's security force became certified by the state as a fully fledged police department, and police training became mandatory for all new recruits.

At this time the emphasis was on the security of Penn's immediate campus, and 40th Street was considered the natural divider between Penn's campus and West Philadelphia.

But as the University expanded and its presence grew over that barrier, 43rd Street crystallized as the boundary for Penn Police Patrols, said Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, who has been with the Division of Public Safety since 1994.

And although the Campus Police Force's immediate jurisdiction was limited to the boundaries of Penn's campus, Penn Police technically had power of arrest anywhere in the state of Pennsylvania.

This remained somewhat of a grey area, though, and in the late 1990s, several defense attorneys challenged Penn Police Department's right to make arrests outside the boundaries of Penn's campus.

Penn Police Department prevailed in these cases, and the result was new legislation by the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission that confirmed Penn Police's jurisdiction within 500 yards of the last University-owned building, as well as its power of arrest for felonies anywhere within Pennsylvania.

Although the zone's boundaries have not changed for 30 years, much else has.

University-sponsored schemes such as the Penn Alexander School at 42nd and Spruce streets, as well as projects like the Bridge: Cinema de Lux on South 40th Street were designed as links between the Penn community and its West Philadelphia neighbors.

A host of other attractions west of 43rd also cater to Penn students, such as Dock Street Brewery at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, and newly opened Local 44 Bar at 44th and Spruce Streets.

Should the Penn Police Patrol Zone be expanding along with Penn's influence to the west?

Yes, according to graduate student Ginger Shoemaker, who said she admits that she has been scared away from West Philadelphia because of personal security concerns.

"Although I live inside the Patrol Zone at 43rd and Spruce, I park my car a few blocks further west, and I would definitely feel safer if there was more of a Penn Police presence out there," she said.

She added that she may be more likely to spend more of her free time exploring West Philadelphia if she knew the Penn Police patrolled farther west.

Graduate student Katie Morrow, who lives about a block and a half west of 43rd Street, said that she too would feel safer with an expanded Penn Police presence in West Philadelphia.

"Sometimes I work late at the Veterinary Hospital, and it gets pretty shady walking back here at night," she said. "It would be good for me if the Penn Patrol Zone extended a bit farther west."

But opinions are certainly not uniform among Penn's west-of-43rd community, which is composed primarily of graduate students. Many said they feel generally safe in their neighborhoods, and some even feared that expansion of the Patrol Zone would have an adverse effect on Penn students.

Graduate student Levi Thompson, who lives at 48th Street and Warrington Avenue, just south of Baltimore Avenue, sees little need for a bigger patrol zone.

"I feel almost totally safe walking between campus and my house," Thompson said, although he added that his female roommates feel less comfortable walking alone in the area.

Although at the end of last year he witnessed someone threaten three other men with a gun near his house, Thompson said that he actually feels safer around his neighborhood than at some places closer to campus.

"I would have more personal safety concerns at 40th and Market streets," said Thompson. "I feel like people know that's a Penn area and anyone who wants to target students will do it at places like that, rather than on residential streets further west."

He added that he feels little need for Penn Police to extend its Patrol Zone farther west, as his area has a heavy Philadelphia Police presence anyway.

Graduate student Agatha Koprowski, who lives at 49th Street and Florence Avenue, just off Baltimore Avenue, also said she feels safe walking around her neighborhood, and expressed concern that extending the Penn Patrol Zone further west may actually cause more problems for Penn students than it would solve.

Many of the home owners around her are being pushed out by the Penn community moving farther and farther west, and this has already caused some resentment among local residents, she said.

Expanding the Penn Patrol Zone would mean full-on gentrification, and may turn West Philadelphia's less affluent residents against the University, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for Penn's West Philadelphia community.

She compared this potential situation to that surrounding the New York University campus, where she previously studied. A heavy student security presence has caused tension with local residents and associated problems for students, she explained.

"Yes, the Penn Patrol Zone ending at 43rd Street is arbitrary," she said, "But it would be equally as arbitrary at 45th or 50th streets, so I think it may as well stay where it is."

No plans for expansion

This debate has not fallen on deaf ears at DPS, but Leddy explained that, with limits on current resources and manpower, expanding the Penn Patrol Zone west of 43rd Street would be a disservice to the Penn community because it would over-stretch the force.

He said resources must be focused first and foremost on the core campus area, where most Penn students and faculty live and work.

Rush added that DPS must also be mindful of the University's plans to expand to the east. The Penn Park project, due to be completed this year, will see a huge increase in activity between 30th and 32nd streets.

The Cira Centre South residential and commercial complex at 29th and Chestnut streets, scheduled for completion in 2011, will also bring a new security dimension to Penn's eastern border.

And, the 43rd Street boundary is not as concrete as it may initially appear.

DPS is well aware of the large Penn presence west of 43rd Street, Rush said, and takes significant measures to ensure their safety.

This includes a reciprocal relationship with other security forces in the area - including Drexel's police department, which patrols to the north of Penn's campus, and the University of the Sciences' security force, whose patrol zone extends to the south - as well as regular meetings with property management companies who own property west of 43rd Street to ensure they are taking safety precautions.

Rush added that through the Multi-Agency Radio frequency network, Penn Police also monitor all 911 calls made in the University City area, so it is fully aware of any incidents involving Penn students outside of its Patrol Zone.

Both Rush and Leddy also emphasized that in terms of on-the-ground response, there is certainly no invisible wall at 43rd Street.

"If we are in pursuit of a suspect, under no circumstances would we suddenly stop at 43rd Street," said Leddy.

But the official boundary will stay put.

"At the end of the day it is a quid pro quo situation," said Leddy, "We have to balance the resources we have available with our obligation to do the best job in protecting the Penn community we can, and at this moment in time, we believe the Patrol Zone ending at 43rd Street allows us to do that."

Despite debate about extending the Patrol Zone, Leddy added that the safety of Penn students beyond the campus' western border has come a long way since the violence of the 1980s.

"Due to our hard work, our good relationship with Philadelphia Police Department and our partnership with our AlliedBarton Security Guards, Penn Police Department has made West Philadelphia in general a much safer place both for Penn students and the community at large," he said.

"But we are not resting on our laurels," he added, "and although the Patrol Zone boundary looks set to stay at 43rd Street for now, we will continue in our efforts to protect members of the Penn community living west of there with the same energy and enthusiasm as those who live within the Patrol Zone."

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