To the Temple community:

Last semester, I announced a series of actions that Temple University will undertake to help protect its students, staff, faculty and North Philadelphia community members. Today, I am sharing the latest developments in our efforts.

• Safety Audit: The university will partner with former commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, Charles H. Ramsey, to audit all of Temple’s current campus safety services. Ramsey’s tenure as commissioner, from January 2008 to January 2016, saw the city’s homicide rate drop 37% while violent crime decreased 31%. Ramsey previously co-chaired President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
• Task Force on Violence Reduction Strategies: I have also created this Task Force to keep key constituents, including parents and North Philadelphia residents, engaged in enhancing safety. The task force is one of many efforts designed to help elevate Temple’s anti-violence research and programs and to devise new solutions to help address Philadelphia’s gun violence epidemic. In December, I hosted my first listening session on campus safety—walking and speaking with students, parents, landlords and Temple Police Officers.
• Mobile Safety App:The university will launch RAVE Temple Guardian, a new, one-touch personal safety mobile app, on Monday, Feb. 14. Students will use the app to connect directly with Temple University Police–enabling them to request both virtual or physical escorts and to report any suspicious activity.

Additional steps are already underway, including an increase in FLIGHT operations and the hiring of more Temple Police Officers. Details on all of our campus safety enhancements can be found here.

Protecting our community is an ongoing process, but we are committed to ensuring that no one feels unsafe on Temple’s campus. In the months to come, we will continue to provide regular campus safety updates as new measures and changes are implemented.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Wingard
President