Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
The process of designing and maintaining a system of Closed Circuit Television Cameras within the Penn Patrol Zone for the purposes of crime prevention and crime abatement in 1999 was done through a collaborative process between the Division of Public Safety, the University of Pennsylvania and West Philadelphia community leaders and residents. A seven-person CCTV Monitoring Panel, comprising Penn faculty and staff, was established in 1999 before any cameras were installed in order to ensure compliance with the CCTV policy by the Division of Public Safety. This panel continues (with rotating membership) to coordinate and approve the locations for all installations of CCTV cameras in public spaces on and off campus.
Currently there are 99 pan-tilt-zoom CCTV cameras (Footnote 1 - ) and over five hundred fixed cameras on Penn’s campus and the city’s street all feeding back to the PennComm Center. Our CCTV cameras are pro-actively used by our dispatchers to deter crime and to assist DPS in enhancing the quality of life for the Penn and University City community through virtual 24-7 CCTV patrols.
