Allied Barton Security Services were hired to patrol the entrances of Ritter Hall and ask for identification from all those who enter.
On Sept. 22, an employee reported that an unknown male entered her office, struck her, and demanded her purse. “We have joined the campus community to assist Temple’s public safety services the best way that we can,” said Larry Rubin, spokesman for AlliedBarton Security Services.
The company is the largest American-owned and managed contract security services company in the country, according to their Web site. The duty of the security guards is to check the identification of all entrants to ensure that they belong in the building.
Rubin said that the university requested that the service of checkers be used instead of the standard of someone merely monitoring the entrance. The checkers are on duty in Ritter Hall daily from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
If, in the event that a student, faculty, or staff member does not have their Owl Card, they must present some other form of photo identification with another item of proof, such as a class roster, to verify that he or she is a member of the Temple community to gain admittance into the building.
“We recognize that there may be some complaints to the change in procedure,” Rubin said, addressing the fact that the identification checking slows down the process of admittance into the building and crowds the doors at busy times during the day.
“But it’s important that Temple students are able to adjust to the inconveniences.”
Currently, Ritter Hall is the only building on campus that has experienced an increase in security.
It is not yet clear as to whether or not any other building on campus will be undergoing similar changes in the near future.
– Rob Czyzewicz
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