Pennsylvania lawmakers awarded Temple University $1.8 million in funding for campus safety improvements, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives announced Wednesday.
The funding, approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, will be used for gunshot detection technology, license plate readers, retention and recruitment bonuses and cameras. The support from Harrisburg comes as Temple continues to grapple with safety challenges after the death of Sgt. Christoper Fitzgerald.
“Gun violence is at an all-time high in the city of Philadelphia, and it is my hope that this funding can help in some way keep Temple University students, staff and those living around the campus safe from this outrageous violence that’s already taken far too many lives,” said State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents the area surrounding Temple’s campus.
The university has struggled to hire officers, citing national trends in police hiring as the reason for not reaching its December 2021 goal of growing its campus safety force by 50 percent.
As of Feb. 28, Temple University Police Department currently has 71 active officers, a slight decrease from the 79 who worked in December 2021, according to the university.
President Jason Wingard and Jennifer Griffin, vice president for public safety, unveiled plans to review more than 1,000 campus cameras at a Jan. 23 Temple Student Government town hall after a recommendation by the university’s Violence Reduction Task Force.
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