Editorial | Keeping crime down

Last semester, crime sailed to the top of the University's priority list after an undergraduate was shot just off campus. In response, President Amy Gutmann announced a plan to bump security spending by $5 million, including $2 million to improve the lighting around campus. Apparently, the plan worked. Crime is down around campus in recent months. There were 114 robberies in September of 2005, and that number was down to 93 for September of this year. More specifically, general theft dropped from 43 incidents to 37, and bicycle theft dropped from 39 incidents to 19 incidents - a decrease of more than 50 percent. Obviously, the drops could be due to a number of factors, from weather to an improving economy to the actual reporting of crimes. But the decrease comes during a general surge in violence in Philadelphia; violent crime in particular has spiked, with more than 300 murders in the city so far this year. But crime is down, and the Division of Public Safety should get some of the praise. Whether this is a permanent decrease, however, is another question entirely. When crime goes down, safety officials have the opportunity to relax and let their guard down. But Penn - to its credit - seems to be remaining vigilant. According to DPS spokeswoman Karima Zedan, all of the $3 million increase devoted to keeping more police and safety officers on the streets will become a permanent part of the DPS budget. That extra money has gone a long way, and we hope it remains permanent. Penn is so often reactive, keeping the money in the operations budget will help ensure a proactive approach to safety. There's nothing more important than the safety of Penn's students, and it's great to see the University put, and keep, money behind its anti-crime initiatives.

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