Penn Police seek diversity

I want to set the record straight about an article that appeared recently in The Daily Pennsylvanian ("Race issues divide men in blue," 11/17/00). The truth is that the University of Pennsylvania Police Department has worked vigorously to recruit and promote minority officers, including women. Currently, there are four minorities at the rank of sergeant: three African Americans, one of whom is a woman, and one white woman. Recently, we promoted three additional minorities into the rank of corporal. We now have four minority corporals, including two women. The article stated that the promotion of minority supervisors is mere "window dressing." This is not only incorrect, it is insulting to the professionalism and integrity of the current minority supervisors and all the men and women of the Division of Public Safety. In May, the entire division took part in a full-day diversity program. Two training consultants developed this program based on feedback they received from four focus groups composed of faculty, staff, students and DPS employees. This program was highly interactive and touched on some tough real-life problems involving race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, and was well received by all. When the DP approached me about writing a story about race issues within the Penn Police Department and asked to speak to minority officers, I granted this request. Approximately 10 African-American and Latino officers were asked to call the reporter to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, the article relies more upon former employees than interviews with current officers. Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the alleged scenarios described by former officer Pat Chad occurred prior to the current administration. The article also states that George Clisby was demoted when the police chief position was split into two. This is not true. Mr. Clisby was a valued member of the UPPD during his entire tenure here, and was never demoted. The article further states that Mr. Clisby left the department two years later and the job, director of administration, was re-integrated into the chief's position. This again is inaccurate. The position remains a separate entity reporting directly to the vice president for Public Safety. I do not want to comment at length on the statements attributed to Ken Yuen and Mark Johnson because litigation is pending with both former officers. However, one aspect of the litigation with Mark Johnson has been resolved. On September 11, 2000, the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review denied Mr. Johnson unemployment benefits. In its decision, the Board stated "the claimant acted insubordinately on two occasions." The board also wrote that "Claimant alleged that he did not respond to a fire call because his radio's volume was turned down too low. The Board does not find claimant to be credible in this regard. However, even if claimant had turned the radio's volume down too low, such negligence on the part of a police officer is tantamount to willful misconduct." Contrary to the implications of the DP article, we have been continually working to improve the skills, competencies and professionalism of the department. In March 2001, the department will attain a four-year goal: national accreditation. The UPPD will be one of only 327 police departments in the United States -- and one of 26 university police departments, as well as the first in Pennsylvania -- to attain this prestigious certification. This process required us to re-examine all of our policies and procedures. These binders of polices and procedures are not meant to collect dust; they are living documents that direct the officers and supervisors on how to do their jobs. It is also the basis of the disciplinary system. When officers do not follow these regulations, they are subject to disciplinary action. Included in this system is Directive 19, which details the prohibition of statements that are offensive to others on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender. Every member of the department is charged with upholding these directives and reporting to their supervisors when policies are violated. Serious crimes, such as robbery, have decreased dramatically between 1996 and 2000. We have opened up new opportunities for all officers, regardless of minority status, to expand their professional knowledge in areas such as the detective unit, the motorcycle unit, the emergency response team, the traffic unit and the special services unit. Minority officers are represented in all of these areas. I, along with the entire management team, continue to work diligently to increase the professionalism, harmony and effectiveness of the UPPD. In order to succeed, we need the input of every member of this department. The DP's article is not only inaccurate and biased, it is an insult to what the women and men of the Penn Police represent.

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