Officers at Temple University are taking it to the streets with a new initiative that requires them to spend a portion of each shift walking patrols on and around the school's campusOn Wednesday, the school announced the new Park and Walks initiative, which will require university officers to spend at least 90 minutes in each 12-hour shift walking throughout the university's patrol zone.
New this semester, Public Safety is launching an initiative called Park and Walks, which increases foot patrols conducted by Temple Police Officers within the university’s patrol zone.On social media, the school's vice president for public safety, Jennifer Griffin, said the move will allow officers to park their patrol vehicles and get out to walk the streets and meet members of the community.
"This allows officers to learn more about the students, faculty, business owners and community that they’re protecting," she noted online. This initiative will be undertaken on top of existing bike patrols and, school officials said online, the move follows a safety audit that was conducted earlier this year.That audit found that, due to the"relatively compact size of Temple’s campus and patrol boundaries" community safety could be improved by on-foot patrols, the school noted online.