The University of Pennsylvania Police Department (UPPD), with 116 members, is the largest private police department in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the fourth largest in the nation. All personnel of the UPPD are full-time sworn municipal police officers certified through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Training and Education Commission, and retain general law enforcement authority and order maintenance for the area in which the University of Pennsylvania is situated.

The primary responsibilities of the UPPD are crime prevention, abatement and investigation within the Penn patrol zone jurisdiction, which extends from 30th Street to 43rd Street (east to west) and Market Street to Baltimore Avenue (north to south). UPPD officers maintain proactive uniform and plain-clothes patrol services, 24/7, by foot, bicycle, car and motorcycle. Members from the UPPD are highly-trained in a number of specialized areas including: emergency response, crisis and hostage negotiation, dignitary protection, traffic safety, motorcycle and bicycle patrol. The UPPD Detective Bureau is responsible for criminal investigations and crime scene processing for incidents reported to the Penn Police. Penn Detectives regularly meet and consult with students, staff and faculty regarding crime prevention and safety issues.

The UPPD and the Philadelphia Police Department, maintain a strong collaborative partnership, and share tactical, strategic and investigative information on a daily basis, as well as during monthly public safety group meetings, with participants from multiple law enforcement agencies in the city, such as SEPTA police, Amtrak police, Philadelphia Housing Authority Police, as well as security partners from educational institutions within University City and property managers from University City buildings. In addition, the UPPD has a full-time officer assigned to work within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enabling Penn and its University City constituents to monitor, analyze and investigate current trends in the distribution and use of illicit drugs.

The UPPD is a fully-accredited police department, and has been since March 2001, through the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)*, which administers a rigorous accreditation process whereby law enforcement agencies must adhere to over 440 standards, codes and state-of-the-art practices. The UPPD remains the first and only university police department to receive this prestigious recognition, and one of approximately 40 in the nation.

*CALEA: The credentialing authority created through the joint efforts of the following four law enforcement major executive associations: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE); National Sheriffs' Association (NSA); and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The purpose of CALEA’s Accreditation Programs is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by: maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence.