Approximately 125,000 people study, work, live, and visitors simply passthrough the Penn Patrol Zone on a given day. Safety and Security in an open, urban, multicultural and densely-populated university environment such as Penn requires at the core, a strong commitment to community-based policing practices. The primary responsibilities of the University of Pennsylvania Police Department are law enforcement, order maintenance and service. First and foremost in our organization’s success, is the support of the community we serve for effective crime prevention. Community feedback and input about our crime-prevention programs are critical to building a successful program. This philosophy is reinforced at every level within the UPPD, from the patrol officer to the Superintendent of Police.
Other components of the community policing strategy include:
The University of Pennsylvania Police Department’s Detective Unit is a full-service squad comprised of the Deputy Chief of Investigations, 2 Detective Supervisors and 12 Detectives. Services include Criminal Investigations, Offender Processing and crime scene examinations.
The UPPD Detective Bureau is proud to have clearance rates for burglaries and robberies consistently higher than the average national clearance rates for the same crimes. The Detective Unit also provides Dignitary Protection for the many important University of Pennsylvania VIP’s both local and from around the globe who visit our campus.
For the Penn community in particular, UPPD Commanders, Supervisors and Detectives have institutionalized a liaison relationship with various resource centers and divisions, including the following, in which assigned members of the UPPD meet regularly with academic and administrative leaders to provide support, answer questions, and function as a first responder to problems and concerns associated with each respective entity:
The Division of Public Safety embraces the motto, “Safety and security is a shared responsibility” and the members of the UPPD work diligently through open dialogue, transparency, and collaboration, to deliver the highest quality of service and protection for every valued community member in the Penn and University City area.