Dear Temple community, 

Welcome back, and Happy New Year!  

Temple University’s Department of Public Safety is excited to welcome students, faculty and staff back to our campuses for the start of the spring semester. We hope you had a relaxing break with your friends and family.

The safety of both the Temple and North Philadelphia communities is of the utmost importance, and it is also foundational to the vibrant learning, working and visiting environment that we seek to provide. We want to take a moment to remind students, faculty and staff of all the available safety resources here on campus.

We can help keep each other safe by following best practices and utilizing the numerous safety resources available here at Temple. Here are just some recommendations that we encourage the Temple community to follow. 

• We encourage all members of the Temple community to stay updated regarding the university’s available safety resources. The Department of Public Safety is also on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram, and we invite the community to follow us for safety updates. 
• Save the Temple University Police Department’s phone number directly into your cell phone: 215-204-1234. Calling that number connects you with a Temple dispatcher, who will send a Temple police officer to you if needed. You can also call that number to report a crime. 
• Download the TUSafe app. TUSafe is Temple University’s one-touch personal safety app. It is available to all students, faculty and staff members at Temple’s U.S. campuses. The Temple community can use this mobile tool to connect directly with Temple’s Department of Public Safety.  
• Register your cell phone to receive TUalerts here. TUalerts are an emergency notification system used to communicate with the Temple community in the event of an emergency or impactful weather events.
• Students, faculty and staff can request a walking escort 24 hours a day by calling 8-9255 from a campus phone or 215-777-9255 from a cell phone. This program allows students, faculty or staff to be escorted anywhere within Temple University Police Department’s patrol zone by a security or police officer. 
• Become familiar with medical amnesty. Temple University has a medical amnesty policy that states that no student will be subject to university discipline for seeking medical treatment for the effects of drug or alcohol use, and this amnesty will be granted to both the intoxicated student and the student seeking help for an intoxicated student.
• Utilize Flight, Temple’s free, nighttime shuttle loop service. With more than 50 stops within the campus patrol zone, Flight takes you where you need to go from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. The Flight service runs seven days a week, and you’ll never have to wait more than 15 minutes for a shuttle to arrive. Plus, Flight stops are easy to locate with their flashing strobe lights. The TransLoc app enables you to track when a shuttle is approaching the nearest stop.  
• If you are a student living off campus, use Temple’s Best Nest Program, which offers students the ability to search off-campus housing options that meet certain safety, security and good neighbor criteria. The Best Nest Program allows properties to display recognition as either a cherry-certified property or a diamond-certified property on their listing, thus providing students with more information about the locations where they consider living. The university also launched the Security Grant Program for landlords to improve safety for students living off campus but within our patrol zone. 
• If you come home and find signs of forced entry, do not enter. Instead, go to a safe location and if the property is within the university’s patrol zone, call Temple Police: 215-204-1234. Otherwise, call 911. 

We also want to update you on our latest public safety initiatives. Last semester and through the winter break, our team continued to work hard, and we invite you to follow our progress through the safety dashboard. Here is just a snapshot of some recent accomplishments over the last several months. 

• Temple is now using artificial intelligence gun detectors, marking the first time this technology has been used on a campus in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware. 
• Public Safety produced the university’s first-ever active assailant awareness video, which outlines how the Temple community should respond in such a situation. You can view the video here. 
• Public Safety also recently launched a monthly e-newsletter. You can view and sign up for that here.
• Data also shows a growing number of students are using the university’s safety resources. 
• Our engagement unit remains committed to building a bridge with the North Philadelphia community. Just before winter break, the Engagement Unit, through a donation from a Secret Santa, gave away 24 bicycles to children in need. Public Safety also hosted its annual Children’s Holiday Party, gifting presents to 300 children who live in the North Philadelphia community.

Nonemergency questions and concerns should be directed to police@temple.edu or 215-204-7900 during business hours. We look forward to continuing to serve the Temple University community and hope you have a great spring semester.

Best regards,

Jennifer D. Griffin
Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police