University abuzz about 'perfect storm' of crime

Three students have been arrested or indicted in the past week. The north side of campus has seen two shootings in a month. A female student was sexually assaulted in her off-campus apartment, and suspects have flashed students in two separate incidents.

The crimes are "the perfect storm," said Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Ultimately, Rush said, because the crimes are completely unrelated, it's simple bad luck that has caused concern among officials and students.

"There's no doubt that [these incidents] . will raise some people's anxiety levels" on campus, Rush said.

In the short term, officials and experts say, strategies for handling the situation include communicating with the University about safety concerns and placing the incidents in the context of citywide crime trends.

University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said she isn't concerned that Penn's image will be hurt by these incidents.

She called crimes on campus - even those perpetrated by students - "inevitable" in an urban campus like Penn and said "it's going to take a lot more than a few negative media stories to make a dent on [the University's] reputation."

Public relations experts tended to agree with that assessment, but they said there are still steps a university can take in situations like this.

David Kirk, president of thePRguy Inc., stressed the importance of communication about safety issues.

Keeping the Penn community updated about crime problems has become increasingly important in the wake of last April's massacre at Virginia Tech, Kirk said.

Rush said that because a Penn Police officer fired the shots that killed a gunman at Club Wizzards last Monday, it was especially important to inform the University about the incident.

"Having a fatal shooting from the Penn Police is highly unusual. . Clearly this is a huge thing," she said.

Additionally, Penn's strategy of attempting to place recent campus crime in the context of the wider crime epidemic happening throughout the city is sound, according to John Moscatelli, senior vice president and COO of Anne Klein Communications Group LLC.

"Some of the things that happen in and around the campus are completely beyond the control of the University's administrators and the student body," he said, making it important for safety officials to place incidents in context.

Jessica Tubbs, assistant program director of Security on Campus, an advocacy group, agreed, saying that, because the incidents on campus are unconnected, it's difficult to do anything about them.

"There's no explanation . for the randomness of the crimes," she said.

Still, Penn students are concerned - especially because so many high-profile crimes have happened within a relatively short span of time.

"All of a sudden all of these things were happening at once," said College sophomore Sarah Sanchez.

She added that, as a result of the two recent shootings at night clubs on 38th and Chestnut streets, she has begun to attend an earlier Mass at St. Agatha-St. James, a Catholic church located across the street from the site of the shootings. Now, Sanchez said, she doesn't feel comfortable leaving church at about 11 p.m. when the evening service usually gets out.

And though Emily Price, a College sophomore, doesn't feel unsafe as a result of these incidents, she noted that it was "strange" that all these incidents have happened in such a short time span.

Comments (14)

[QUOTE id="04b89c6e-c8b2-4daf-a590-c01e402aa6af"]So Maureen Rush gets paid gobs of money every year in order to tell us that we should just deal with this "bad luck?" And she hasn't been fired because...why?[/QUOTE] Remember that you live in an urban campus in a large city. As frustrating as it feels, I don't think that there is any more that Rush (or Penn) can do than the City has. The 'crime wave' here is just another sad result of the unfortunate rise in crime throughout the City, not just here on and around campus. The plan to add more staff and lighting around here is a good one - we need the extra protection right now. The Penn Police have had more than their fair share of crime to deal with, especially lately, and they should be thanked and commended for their protection efforts. It's not an easy job, and we're lucky that special people like them are willing to do their best to protect us. Also, to some extent, it's up to us to police ourselves as much as possible by locking our doors, using common sense when traveling around town, avoiding late night excursions without a companion, and reporting suspicious activities. Let's hope that our new Mayor and Chief of Police can get the support that they need to reduce crime around here and elsewhere in the city we call home for four years.

Maureen Rush comes from the Sylvester Johnson school of lame excuses for poor performance. The current passive police strategies are not working and it's time for fresh leadership with new ideas. Let's start with accountability from the top on down, better deployment of officers, more visible patrols, thinking outside the box, recruitment from a larger variety of law enforcement agencies, and use of CompStat to hold management accountable for their performance. Excuses will not get the job done; leadership will.

Rush - the shootings, assault, and arrests are "bad luck"? Ever since Judy Rodin left, crime at Penn has steadily increased. And regardless of what the administration might say, the crime and negative publicity WILL AFFECT PENN'S REPUTATION AND RANKINGS. It is time for students, faculty, and parents to insist on real, substantive crime-prevention efforts. Penn has the resources to better protect its students. Step one: increase surveillance and police presence on campus (including the areas west of 38th Street) Step two: Close Wizzards. Gentrify. The Penn community does so much for Philadelphia - and despite "community" protests, it is a beneficial entity in West Philadelphia, and Penn students should not be victimized on or near campus.

When Penn allowed its PD to be used as a patronage haven for retired city cops, its effectiveness was compromised. Ask DPS why do they have such high turnover. Then check who are leaving. I guarantee they are mostly young promising officers who will be assets to other communities. When 60 year old city retirees are hired to work patrol, can we wonder why criminals are not afraid to bring guns to the area?

Maybe all of these are coincidental and unrelated crimes, but in the larger view, the University is becoming progressively less safe. A student death seems like an eventuality, and this would be extremely damaging for Penn. Penn needs to act more aggressively to protect its students.

[QUOTE id="04b89c6e-c8b2-4daf-a590-c01e402aa6af"]So Maureen Rush gets paid gobs of money every year in order to tell us that we should just deal with this "bad luck?" And she hasn't been fired because...why?[/QUOTE] Rush should be fired. What has she done that has been an ounce of prevention? None of her policies are actively reducing crime. All her policies have been retroactive. I believe that if a string of crimes didn't happen recently, she would have been content to sit on her ass in her office and do nothing. The DPS under her watch has no direction and no sense of what is effective in terms of combating that is becoming a hostile environment around Penn. She lacks leadership and accountability and is happy collecting a paycheck that is probably much higher than she deserves when looking at her results. If coaches can be fired for one poor season, she should definitely be fired for her many years of ineptitude.

Build a wall around the campus. There's not one ounce of education (aside from armed robbery) to be found outside.

I have an idea: How about all the geniuses writing these blogs crawl out from the anonymous rock under which they just love to hide, so we can see what they look like. I'll give you a hint: They look just like everyone else, except they're armed, and they're sporting a police uniform. Second hint, they really don't like the PPD. Third, they're jealous, and have a bit of an anger management issue, and when they do express themselves, they're particularly good at trashing other people and spreading rumors and lies. Fourth, they would prefer to write blogs blaming everyone else for the city violence; oh, and of course they completely excuse themselves from having any responsibility. Can you guess who they are? Okay, one last hint: They have a hardon for Rambo, no not Stallone. And lastly, they do a whole lot of trashtalking blaming DPS and the PPD, instead of admitting that they're they really just are pissed off at the world, and no one listen, not even the FOP. Thank god there's the DP blog. What would they do if they couldn't vent online - oh that's right, their jobs.

Well, you at least have to admire Maureen Rush for chutzpah. I'm a housing provider (KRF Management -- don't call us until April 15, much as we'd like to help) with properties in the 43rd - 45th street safe area (where we don't need Penn Police eating doughnuts in their cars using up parking spaces, Penn Security rent-a-cops exposing themselves to our ladies, or UCD Safety Ambassadors swapping lies at our cafes). We're thinking of posting signs in our buildings telling tenants not to go into the danger zone east of 40th Street unless they're in a Penn Escort Van.

Well if it's a Perfect Storm then "Mo" and "Piss Bottle" should pull a Clooney and Walhberg and go down with the ship. UPPD is a ship without a rudder and the biggest joke out there....don't kid yourselves. PT

[QUOTE]I'll give you a hint: They look just like everyone else, except they're armed, and they're sporting a police uniform.[/QUOTE] Who are you talking about? Angry people like me or the criminals? Why are you languishing in these vague implications and just come out and say what you want? Last time I checked I wasn't some Dirty Harry going around shooting people up. [QUOTE]Third, they're jealous, and have a bit of an anger management issue, and when they do express themselves, they're particularly good at trashing other people and spreading rumors and lies.[/Quote] You know it! About Jason... [QUOTE]Fourth, they would prefer to write blogs blaming everyone else for the city violence; oh, and of course they completely excuse themselves from having any responsibility.[/QUOTE] You say I need to take responsibility? You motherf***er, do I go out and set homes on fire to provoke people?! I'm not out there fanning the flames along the frontier in Germania by raping young girls. The crime on campus isn't a reaction to postal land development, either. Penn is the one of the largest employer around here! So if you were trying to say that "you keep a tyrannical power in place that's why you're responsible" - god I want to scream in aggravation. Bottom line, I�?m trying to go to school and leave with a job to pay off my debts. I don�?t need to worry about being gunned down. If all ms rush can say after every crime is "o o spaghettiOs!" that's awful administration right there. [QUOTE]Can you guess who they are? Okay, one last hint: They have a hardon for Rambo, no not Stallone. [/QUOTE] Rambo isn't violent. I see Rambo as a philanthropist. - Sylvester Stallone AKA the 'talian Stallion --- Also, you accuse me of not showing my name like a coward. I admit it, I don't want to reveal myself so I can actually say what's on my mind. Granted, some SEAS student (with a lot of New Zealand Friends for some reason) has my IP address. ps hiding to badmouth someone else...it's so pouplar that even you do it!

I really should be shot for my HTML skills

http://www.petitiononline.com/MRush/petition.html This is the petition created by a few concerned Penn students regarding Maureen Rush and the current crime at Penn.

So Maureen Rush gets paid gobs of money every year in order to tell us that we should just deal with this "bad luck?" And she hasn't been fired because...why?

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