Faculty member the eighth recent assault victim

A female University faculty member was assaulted on the 3100 block of Walnut Street Monday afternoon, marking the eighth assault in nine days on or near Penn's campus.

The woman was walking eastbound on Walnut Street at about 3 p.m. when she was approached by an unknown male who struck her in the face, Division of Public Safety officials said.

The suspect then continued westbound on Walnut Street. He was not carrying a weapon.

DPS officials said the faculty member did not seek medical treatment, and that a full description of the suspect was not available.

Penn Police are investigating the assault.

The incident has not been linked to any of the previous assaults, but DPS spokeswoman Karima Zedan said that "all potential connections between assaults are examined and are investigated fully."

The assault was the eighth to occur on or near campus since Feb. 18, with four of the victims being University affiliates.

Criminology professor Lawrence Sherman said that there is currently not enough data to determine if the crime string is part of a growing trend or simple chance occurrences.

"The jury is out as to whether this is anything but a fluke," he said. "One assault is always too many, but it's not enough to determine what's going on here."

Sherman added that he current string of assaults doesn't necessarily indicate a significant increase in crime.

"At this point, it may simply be a bunching that will average out over a two-month comparison," he said.

He added that some factors that could cause short-term fluctuations in crime include weather, precipitation and holidays, but he could not say if any of these applied to the assaults.

Zedan said that, since the offenders of the assaults are not seizing materials from the victims, it is difficult to determine motives for the attacks.

She added that a "rise in violence for the sake of violence" is not unusual.

"Young men taking out aggression on strangers is not new," she said. "These incidents have occurred in the past."

Zedan added that the Penn Police deployment strategy is continually updated to "reflect all available intelligence" and is adjusted daily based on all crimes.

Comments (7)

I had considered Penn as a graduate school option but the criminal element on that campus, in that city, is absolutely horrifying. How sad and pathetic is it that these animals feel comfortable enough to walk down the street at 3 p.m. on a monday afternoon randomly punching women in the face.

Oh please - there is criminal activity in any city. If you don't want that, then by all means count Philly, NYC, SF, Chicago, and Boston out of your grad school plans. I have lived here in Philly for five years with absolutely no problems - but was actually mugged once in Richmond, Virginia. You never know where crime will strike, but it shouldn't keep you from living and studying in some of the most dynamic places in the country. You just need to be smart and aware of your surroundings - it may happen to you, but that's a risk you take. There are many more benefits to living in a city that overshadow the risk of being hit on a street at 3pm.

[QUOTE id="16e47392-d76a-4e68-adcf-d64089c29097"]I'm just curious as to when Penn administrators (and evidently the criminology faculty member quoted here) will finally realize that the violence around its campus is not just a "random string of events." The crime at Penn has occured consistently, non-stop, and with no improvement at all since I completed undergrad in 2003. I think that it is about time that people woke up to the fact that the crime around Penn's campus is highly systematic and symptomatic of its location, and not just a string of freak occurrences. Though I do not blame any single individual for the crime problem in West Philadelphia, it is simply irresponsible for people not to acknowledge the facts, particularly professors of criminology.[/QUOTE] I blame the criminals.

Please don't let the prospect of crime deter you from attending graduate school here. I had similar concerns when applying but eventually decided to still come here because I liked the program. I haven't regretted my decision one bit and am glad I didn't let my fear of crime keep me away from here. That being said, any time you live in a large city, you need to be more aware of your surroundings and take advantage of the safety resources there. Penn provides walking escorts if you feel afraid walking alone. The Penn police also offer free 12-hour self defense classes that go through all sorts of possible scenarios. Ultimately, no matter how 'prepared' you are, you might still get attacked, but that could happen anywhere. Please don't stop considering Penn just for this reason. Believe me, as a graduate student you'll be spending so much time in your office or in the library anyway!

I've lived in Boston, Chicago, New York, and a few other cities. In none have I ever heard of such a large amount of crime occurring within 40 blocks. The Penn campus isn't that large. It is insane that as much crime is occurring as has happened. If I had been more aware of this, I might have reconsidered attending. Penn Grad Student is being unrealistic; the other cities he mentions are far safer. New York City had around the same number of murders as Philly this year... but New York City has five times the population.

I'm just curious as to when Penn administrators (and evidently the criminology faculty member quoted here) will finally realize that the violence around its campus is not just a "random string of events." The crime at Penn has occured consistently, non-stop, and with no improvement at all since I completed undergrad in 2003. I think that it is about time that people woke up to the fact that the crime around Penn's campus is highly systematic and symptomatic of its location, and not just a string of freak occurrences. Though I do not blame any single individual for the crime problem in West Philadelphia, it is simply irresponsible for people not to acknowledge the facts, particularly professors of criminology.

Comments are closed for this item.