U. Police tell race of suspects

The University Police Department yesterday began disclosing the race of suspects in crimes which they report to the media. "Based upon questions from The Daily Pennsylvanian, this department took a look at its standing policy and decided it was appropriate to change what we felt was no longer appropriate. It was as simple as that," University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said. Until yesterday, the shift supervisors who gave media the police reports withheld the racial description of suspects. Suspects were previously identified only by various physical characteristics including height, weight, age, clothing and skin complexion. Yesterday, University Police Lieutenant Susan Holmes included race in her description of suspects in incidents reported to the DP. The University and the Police Department did not release any official statement on the new procedure. Executive Vice President Marna Whittington said yesterday she deferred to the commissioner for comment. She did say, however, that "as far as I know, [Kuprevich's] explanation is the correct explanation, and I am sure he thought it through." Whittington declined to speculate on possible reactions to the change. "We'll see if there's any reaction," she said. "It's a tough call." David Hochman, president of the Spruce Hill Community Association and interim 27th Ward Democratic Leader, said he was reluctant to comment extensively on the decision. "How Penn chooses to do its police work is not something I want to comment on," he said. Holmes refused to comment on the change.

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