University of Pennsylvania
- Health & Safety

Only the Best of the Best for West Philly

Not only does the school have its own police force (with actual police, not just security officers), but they inform you all the time of the best ways to keep yourself safe. I use the walking security guards and the free vans if I ever feel unsafe and there are always convenient ways to walk home that are well-lit and covered in security. Blue lights are all over the place. However, Penn is located in West Philly, so occasionally unsafe things do happen, which is pretty much impossible to eliminate. Police usually patrol at night around parties only to make sure everything's going okay and that people are safe and they usually don't break up parties and when they do there are rarely arrests

Amazing on-Campus Security Force

Penn Public Safety is amazing and I think it is a part of Penn that most students take for granted. Penn has consistently been top ranked in terms of on campus security. We have our very own police force that can do all the same things that the Philadelphia police department can do.

At night, you always see Penn police on their bikes patrolling campus and because of them, I've never felt unsafe. However, if you do every feel unsafe, they offer walking escorts and van escorts that will meet you and walk you home.

There are also emergency call boxes all over campus. The division of public safety also has a text/email alert system that it sends out to the Penn community when a crime nearby has taken place.

That being said, the area immediately surrounding Penn is safe, but a few blocks from campus can get sketchy and sometimes the sketchiness will spill over into areas around Penn so you just have to be safe and smart about things.

Safety on Compus

The security can be described as outstanding and great. The University is truly trying to keep all students safe and I think they are doing a wonderful job at it.