STAFF EDITORIAL: Keep Special Services strong

Now is the time for Penn to demonstrate its continued commitment to offering strong victim support. The recent resignation of its director, Susan Hawkins, and the reassignment of much of its staff have raised campus-wide concern about the unit's future. We hope that officials put such concerns to rest with unequivocal action in the month's to come. The Division of Public Safety, under which the unit falls, would do a fundamental disservice to the Penn community by sapping the unit's strength. Instead, this is an opportune moment for Thomas Seamon, vice president for Public Safety, to seize the initiative and demonstrate his commitment to the unit's future. That would be unfortunate. While it is important that Special Services work in close conjunction with the University Police -- a priority that is well-served by their close physical proximity in police headquarters at 4040 Chestnut Street -- it is also important that the unit retain a degree of autonomy. While the police must necessarily focus on investigating crimes, Special Services plays a more complex role -- one that would be compromised by an undue focus on the criminals rather than the victims. And serving that role effectively requires that the unit maintain its traditional autonomy. Hawkins was the unit's first director without a background in police work; a trained psychologist whose appointment won the approval of the University community. By again focusing on winning the community's approval for whoever is selected as the next Special Services director, the University has the opportunity to demonstrate its long-term commitment to the unit and its unique mission.

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