What are some of the public safety challenges Penn faces, and are they common to every urban university?
A. Schools in an urban environment are adapting to different communities to fit in and be part of an area. You have to be conscious of what’s being reported and what the trends are. We meet on a regular basis with the Philadelphia Police Department, the University City District and their ambassadors and all the West Philly community groups, and we discuss issues, strategies and ways that we can work together. We also use a process called Pennstat, which is modeled on a national police program called Compstat, where you take a look at all that’s been reported to us on a regular basis and use mapping strategies & to be aware of what’s happening in the surrounding neighborhoods so we can develop precautionary strategies. I also do this on a citywide basis. Once a month, I meet with all the Philadelphia Police commanders. So the communication is constantly open and it extends within the federal jurisdictions, too. I meet with representatives from the FBI, DEA, the Secret Service and other
