Dear Temple community,  

Now that we have entered a new academic year, Temple University’s Department of Public Safety wanted to take a moment to remind students, faculty and staff of all of the available safety resources here on campus. The safety of both the Temple and North Philadelphia communities is of the utmost importance to us, and it is also foundational to the vibrant learning, working and visiting environment that we seek to provide.

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

• 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 students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors, local residents, parents and the news media in the event of an emergency or impactful weather events.
• Students, faculty and staff can request a walking escort 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- or diamond-certified property on their listing, thus providing students with more information about the locations where they consider living. 

I also want to update you on our latest public safety initiatives. While our students were away for the summer, our team worked hard, and we invite you to continue to monitor our progress through the Safety Dashboard. Here is just a snapshot of some recent accomplishments over the last several months. 

• Temple is the first university in Pennsylvania to use license-plate reading cameras from Flock Safety.
• We have made major upgrades to the department’s records management and report system for the first time in more than 20 years. This new system, called the Automated Records Management System, or ARMS, improves communication between dispatchers and police officers, while providing rich data for analysis to allocate resources and direct strategy. 
• In an effort to better serve the Temple community, we expanded our Investigations Unit. We recently hired two new detectives, and promoted a sergeant of investigations.
• Seven police officers were recently hired. We continue recruitment efforts and are leveraging social media and advertising to expand our reach. 
• In addition to new or upgraded equipment, the department is also installing artificial intelligence gun detectors, which will mark the first time this specific technology is used on a campus in Pennsylvania. 

Our engagement unit also remains committed to continue building a bridge with the North Philadelphia community. We are proud to introduce the Temple 42, the prodigious 42 students from George Washington Carver High School entering Temple’s Class of 2028. This represents about 20% of Carver’s graduating class, and many of these students credit Temple Police Officer Leroy Wimberly as the reason why they chose to pursue a degree here.

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.
 
Best regards,

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