'Really successful' summer for Public Safety

Summer has flown by — not just for students, but for the Division of Public Safety as well, according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

The season was “really successful” overall, Rush said. DPS has not wholly calculated July crime rates as of press time — but preliminary numbers saw a six percent reduction in overall crime from last year, a 17 percent reduction in robberies and a 100 percent decrease in burglary. However, despite this success, DPS had challenges to overcome.

For instance, bicycle theft “reared its ugly head” this summer, Rush said, adding that bicycle theft rates had risen considerably between 40th and 43rd streets.

In response, DPS now plans to launch a new anti-bicycle theft campaign aimed at teaching students how to properly secure their bicycles. In addition, DPS will reach out to landlords to speak about how to better store bicycles and new cameras will be aimed at bicycle racks that are motion-sensitive after a certain time at night, Rush said.

According to Rush, bicycle theft, though not considered a “big deal” by other police departments, can encourage more crime. “It’s like the broken windows theory,” Rush explained. “If you’re coming here to steal a bike and walk up on someone’s porch off campus ... and suddenly you look in and you see a big color TV sitting in the window, you might decide ‘maybe I’ll be a burglar today too.’”

Unattended theft in places such as restaurants and coffee shops also posed a problem this summer, according to Rush. “It’s a continual situation that we have to keep on peoples radar. We’re a destination location thanks to the restaurants and movie theaters — but unfortunately these restaurants have been hit.”

Another challenge for DPS was retail theft. Last June, retail theft had risen 228.6 percent from June 2009, with 23 retail thefts reported as opposed to seven last year.

But according to Rush, the addition of a security officer in American Apparel — located at 3651 Walnut St — greatly reduced crime in the store. On July 8 Rush told The Daily Pennsylvanian that 12 of the 23 instances of theft reported in June were from American Apparel.

“American Apparel … for the most part has been crime-free. That’s been a big, big success,” Rush said, adding that police are working to establish a system which would allow retailers to alert one another in the event someone attempts to commit fraud or theft.

“One of the biggest successes was the quality of life we’ve been able to enhance,” she continued, pointing to the various programs organized by University City District including street performances, farmer’s markets, the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll and Dining Days.

“We worked with UCD and Facilities and Real Estates Services and put together a program consisting of entertainment and the deployment of police and security resources,” Rush said, adding that DPS faced no crowd control issues as a result. “It could be that people simply didn’t try to create trouble, but I think it’s a credit to the collaboration of UCD, FRES, and retail merchants.”

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