After ongoing issues with crime and public safety in and around Temple University's North Philadelphia campus -- including a shooting that led to a stampede at a youth football game -- the school's police are taking a new tact in combating the problem.
They are stepping up foot patrols.
On 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.
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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.
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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.
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