Reporter's Notebook | PennComm: Overseeing Penn

PennComm assistant operations manager Sandy Ramos took control of one of the center’s pan-tilt-zoom closed-circuit television cameras, zooming in on the statue of Ben Franklin sitting on a bench on the 37th Street walk.

“There are a lot of things that happen to Ben there,” she said.

But PennComm is watching more than just Ben.

The PennComm center connects to 450 blue light emergency phones, 99 pan-tilt-zoom closed-circuit television cameras and hundreds of stationary CCTV cameras across campus, as well as serving as a dispatch center for Penn Police.

“It’s just another level in safety,” said DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella. “Most students have no idea.”

Ramos showed me around the center, located at DPS headquarters at 4040 Chestnut St., to get a better idea of what goes on there.

Each PennComm dispatcher is responsible for a different area of campus, keeping an eye on “virtual patrols” — automatic scanning patterns for the pan-tilt-zoom cameras — as well as a computer-aided dispatch screen, which lists all requests for service in the community.

The virtual patrols are intended to supplement Penn Police’s physical patrol efforts, Ramos said.

Another camera Ramos showed me overlooks Franklin Field and, when fully zoomed in, gives an impressive view of the turf.

Ramos was adamant that DPS does not watch athletic events from the PennComm center — “not to say that we couldn’t watch a football game,” she said.

The system is integrated so that if someone were to pick up an emergency phone on campus, a CCTV camera would pan to the location and zoom in on the phone.

“You don’t even have to talk,” Ramos said.

Cella said that in many cases, camera patrols have helped to quickly identify suspects.

“We have footage of people stealing bikes, and they don’t even know,” she said,

The cameras also help DPS in more serious situations, like when shots were fired outside of Philly Diner, located at 3901 Walnut St., last spring.

Cella added that the presence of cameras is clearly announced by signs all over campus.

“It’s not like they’re hidden,” Ramos said.

PennComm Director Mitch Yanak said as of last Tuesday, PennComm had processed 135,878 radio calls in 2009, compared to 138,463 in the same time period last year.

In addition to monitoring calls directly to Penn Police — 511 from a phone on campus, and (215) 573-3333 off campus — PennComm also monitors Philadelphia Police’s list of incidents, dispatching officers to those that are on or near campus, Yanak said.

Penn Police fields approximately 100 calls per month from the city police system, he added.

According to Yanak, such cooperation is unprecedented.

“We’re viewed by other universities as a benchmark,” he said.

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