The Best Nest program is a collection of resources that can be used to help students and their families make informed off-campus housing decisions.

Flight is Temple’s free fixed-route evening shuttle service operating on and around campus.

Flight runs daily and picks up and drops off passengers at over 40 stops along two routes. Any student, faculty or staff member with a valid OWLcard (the Temple University identification card) can use Flight.

For more information on Flight, including service area, hours of operation, frequently asked questions and other shuttle services, visit the Flight page on Temple’s Campus Operations website.

Walking escorts are available daily between 4 p.m. and 6 a.m. to accompany individuals to locations within Temple’s patrol boundaries. Escorts are security bike officers that maintain communication with Temple Police. 

To request a walking escort, call 8-WALK (8-9255) from a campus phone or 215-777-9255 from a cell phone. 

Flight is another option for traveling to off-campus residences.

Beginning in August 2022, Flight will move from an on-demand to a fixed-route service. The new format is informed by recommendations from a student-led industrial and systems engineering senior project team, conversations with SEPTA’s Customized Community Transportation team and ongoing engagement with a national leader in transit consulting.

Student feedback will be collected during the fall 2022 semester. This collected information along with the transit consultant’s final report will be used to inform future enhancements of the service.

Campus safety is covered during the mandatory Temple Preview experience at Orientation. Students may also choose to register for an optional Owls in the City session, which goes into more detail about navigating life and staying safe in a major American city. 

Campus Safety Services offers introductory self-defense workshops to students and employees upon request. For more information, contact Donna Gray at donna.gray@temple.edu. 

The university offers the Good Neighbor Initiative, which educates students about the surrounding neighborhood and how to be productive members of the community while attending Temple. 

For students who need assistance with mental health concerns, Tuttleman Counseling Center offers short-term individual and group counseling, and may make referrals to off-campus services for students that need longer-term care. 

The university is working hard to continue safeguarding the community and to plan for the future. Learn more about our current initiatives.

The university is working to increase our Campus Safety force, and we continue to work with the Philadelphia Police Department to increase their presence off campus. Additionally, university leaders are collaborating with city leaders to expand anti-violence initiatives to reduce shootings and homicides in North Philadelphia and across the city. 

In January 2022, we announced a partnership with former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who will audit all of our campus safety services. Ramsey began his audit on April 1 and will continue to work on this over the next several months, but he is already gathering information and meeting with key stakeholders and groups. Read the story highlighting the start of the audit. 

We continue to do our part to help bolster hiring efforts, both here at Temple and also regionally and nationally. In late May 2022, we hosted the largest law enforcement job fair on the East Coast. More than 100 law enforcement agencies were in attendance.

As we work to continue to hire a number of TUPD officers, we have greatly increased our patrol numbers through the use of Philadelphia Police Department supplemental patrols. We have tripled the number of weekly patrol hours from 96 to 288.

Further actions being taken by the university include the following.

• Launched a Violence Reduction Task Force.

• Held small group meetings with parents.

• Launched the RAVE Guardian app.

• Increased communications across channels, including social, video and email.

• Relaunched Flight as a fixed-route service.

• Expanded Philadelphia Police Department supplemental patrols to 288 hours a week.

• Hired Jennifer Griffin as the first vice president for public safety.

• Announced a landlord rating system and the offer of grants to landlords to add safety features to their properties.

• Expanded the Walking Escort Service to cover the entirety of the patrol zone.

• Reached an agreement with our police union and implemented several other additional changes.

• Committed to exploring long-term solutions to the gun violence epidemic by promoting scholarship and thought leadership.

Temple students can use several safety resources on campus, including walking escorts by Campus Safety staff, shuttle services and Temple’s new RAVE app. We also offer strategies that emphasize safety awareness.

Emergency phones are positioned across campus, enabling students to communicate directly with our communication center if there is an emergency or if they simply need assistance.

Temple University provides the following resources.

• Professionally trained and certified campus police officers that patrol the campus 24 hours a day.
  • Officers receive training in law enforcement as well as emergency preparedness (e.g., active assailant/shooter training)
• A high-traffic patrol on weekends and during late hours comprised of Temple police and security officers in addition to Philadelphia Police Department officers and a supervisor to augment patrols along the western zone of campus.
• PA State Police Liquor Enforcement agents who, on certain days and hours, are visible on and around campus to promote safe social activity while keeping our community safe.
• Trained building security officers who greet visitors and students and help keep our buildings safe.
• Contracted security officers in uniforms and on bikes who patrol the campus. These officers provide walking escorts, serve as eyes and ears for Temple officers, and offer a highly visible crime deterrent.
• Professionally trained dispatchers who take all emergency phone calls and activate special services as necessary.
  • Dispatchers have more than 1,000 cameras at their disposal throughout the campus. This provides a significant camera surveillance system that allows Temple officers to observe suspicious incidents and potentially identify the offender(s).
• Our dispatchers interface and communicate with Philadelphia Police, SEPTA Police and Pennsylvania State Police.
• A volunteer student emergency medical services program (TUEMS) with students who are trained to medically assess patients and provide basic medical support. TUEMS works during high-traffic hours and days, helping fellow students get immediate and basic medical support until other emergency personnel arrives.
• An External Relations Unit that provides 
  • Coffee with Cops, a program that allows officers to share crime prevention education with students;
  • student employee orientation that highlights crime prevention education;
  • a credited personal defense course; and a
  • bicycle safety program, with the registration of bikes and locks to safeguard them.

The Department of Campus Safety Services provides service to the Temple community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The department monitors security operations for more than 130 buildings, spanning approximately 330 acres. Temple Police manages sites around Main Campus, as well as the Health Sciences Center and Ambler campuses.

On a typical day, Campus Safety staff are visible around campus: directing traffic, responding to inquiries, conducting prevention programs and interacting with the community in various other functions. Officers maintain positive relations with the Temple community in their assigned sectors. They are highly visible, wearing distinctive uniforms and are available to respond to situations.

Campus Safety maintains a collaborative network with the Philadelphia Police Department, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Upper Dublin Police Department (Ambler Campus) and other law enforcement agencies. Temple Police maintains memoranda of understanding with both the Philadelphia Police Department and with the Upper Dublin Police Department.

Temple Police is currently staffed by approximately 110 sworn police officers (including supervisors and detectives) patrolling area campuses. Each officer is a Pennsylvania-certified law enforcement officer who has received state-mandated police recruit training at an accredited police academy and is authorized to enforce the law and make arrests similar to any municipal police department officer. 

Annually, Temple Police are certified through state-mandated, inservice training in accordance with the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. Training modules include updates to the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Vehicle Code and Rules of Criminal Procedure. Other training sessions focus on the core concepts of procedural justice and police legitimacy, and address how to build respectful and effective relationships with the community while improving officer safety. Additional training includes certification in CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators.

Temple Police patrols the area between 9th Street to the east and 18th Street to the west and from Susquehanna Avenue to the north and Jefferson Avenue to the south. An additional patrol area between 13th Street to the east and Broad Street to the west extends south to Girard Avenue to include the Temple Sports Complex. See the Main Campus patrol area.

Areas falling outside of these borders are patrolled by the Philadelphia Police Department.

No. State law sets limits as to Temple Police’s jurisdiction.

TUalert is Temple Univeristy's emergency notification system used to deliver critical information to our students, faculty, and staff via text and email. These alerts are only sent for situations, incidents, or emergencies that pose an immediate threat or hazard on campus or within the university patrol zone and require immediate action on the part of the campus community. TUalerts are are sent in accordance with the Temple University Emergency Communication and Timely Warnings Policy (PDF). 

TUalerts are sent via text message and email to Temple students and employees. Alert information for the general public is also posted on Temple University’s Twitter feed. 

Parents and families are encouraged to follow @TempleAlert on Twitter to receive updates.

TUalerts are a system to communicate information about an incident that requires immediate action on the part of the campus community. These alerts only are sent when there is an imminent public safety danger and a threat to campus.

In compliance with the Clery Act, Temple publishes an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which is published by Oct. 1 each year and discloses the most recent three years of Clery crime statistics, and maintains a public crime log. 

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that, among other things, requires institutions of higher education in the U.S. to disclose campus security information including crime statistics and security information. 

The Clery Act requires higher education institutions to give timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students or employees, and to make public their campus security policies. It also requires that crime data is collected, reported and disseminated to the campus community and is also submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. 

Under the Clery Act, institutions of higher education are responsible for publishing an annual security report and maintaining a public crime log.

Campus Safety Services at Temple makes use of a robust surveillance camera system. In addition to acting as a deterrent, the footage from these cameras is available to dispatchers to get information to responding officers when crimes are committed. 

Temple also offers RAVE Guardian, an app that allows students to set up a profile with Temple Police through the app. Temple’s communication center dispatchers can access this information should you contact Temple Police with a registered phone. RAVE Guardian also provides GPS coordinates from your phone, allowing more effective response to locate you in an emergency.

• Discreetly contact Temple Police by simply texting dispatchers with a tip or situation needing attention. 
• Dispatchers can have two-way communication via text messaging.
• Set a virtual safety timer escort for an extra layer of protection while you travel on and around campus.
• Use an emergency contact button to direct police to your location using GPS technology.

Get more information about this safety resource. 

We are proud to be Philadelphia’s public university and strive to make our community conscious of the safety considerations that are part of living in a large city. 

• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Don’t leave your belongings unattended.  
• Keep your doors locked. 
• Do not prop open building doors. Report suspicious persons inside campus buildings.
• Don’t bring valuable or sentimental items with you to campus.  
• Never walk alone at night. 
• Walk in groups in well-lit areas or use the Walking Escort Program for destinations on campus. Need to go off campus? Use Flight, Temple's free fixed-route evening shuttle service. 
• Always let someone know where you’re going and who you’re with.
• Familiarize yourself with the blue phones located throughout campus. 
• Trust your intuition. If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t.
• Don’t fight if your wallet, phone, backpack, purse or other property is taken. Give it up immediately and then call 911. Your personal safety and well-being are far more important than any possession.

If a crime does occur on campus, notify Campus Safety Services immediately by dialing 1-1234 from a campus phone or 215-204-1234 from a cell phone. 

We are proud to be Philadelphia’s public university and strive to make our community conscious of the safety considerations that are part of living in a large city.

• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Don’t leave your belongings unattended.  
• Keep the doors and windows to your residence locked. 
• Do not prop open building doors. Report suspicious persons inside campus buildings.
• If you have a car, keep valuables out of sight. Or, better yet, leave them at home. 
• Never walk alone at night. 
• Walk in groups in well-lit areas or use Flight, Temple's free fixed-route evening shuttle service on and around campus.
• Always let someone know where you’re going and who you’re with. 
• Trust your intuition. If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t.
• Don’t fight if your wallet, phone, backpack, purse or other property is taken. Give it up immediately and then call 911. Your personal safety and well-being are far more important than any possession.

If a crime does occur, call 911 and notify Campus Safety Services immediately by calling 215-204-1234 from a cell phone. 

Details regarding Temple’s campus safety efforts can be found at temple.edu/safety.

The department provides police and security services 24 hours a day, seven days a week directing resources where needed. Temple and the Philadelphia Police Department use a data-driven approach when deploying personnel. Through the new officers that have been hired as well as the increased Philadelphia Police Department’s supplemental patrols, the university has more than doubled the number of officers actively patrolling Main Campus, especially on nights and weekends.

Temple’s Main Campus patrol map can be found here. The university has limited jurisdiction by state law and cannot expand its patrol zone beyond legal limits.

Students have the option of living in university housing. But in a vibrant and engaging city, college students often prefer the freedom of living independently and developing life skills that set them up for success in adulthood.

Temple guarantees on-campus housing for first-year students. Limited housing in residence halls is available for students after their first year, but most students prefer to live off-campus with friends or commute from their permanent homes. Many apartment buildings around campus offer attractive housing options for students and the Office of Off-campus Living can assist with apartment searches, tenant rights, etc. We can find an available bed in either a university-owned residence hall or in a private complex near campus well within the university’s patrol borders for any student who needs one.

Additionally, any landlord in the area can apply for a grant of up to $2,500 that can be used for installing either lighting and/or cameras to improve security. We have received more than 100 inquiries from area landlords expressing interest in this new program, and more than 10 landlords have already installed equipment and received funding from the university. We are also working to create an online landlord rating system, which can be used by students and families when they are seeking off-campus housing. We hope to have this program launch at some point within the next academic year.

Yes. Temple Student Government recently conducted a campus safety survey, administered to the student community from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6, 2022. It went to 31,734 undergraduate, graduate and professional students on all domestic campuses. A total of 5,313 students submitted usable responses for an overall response rate of 16.7%. The findings from the survey will be used to inform Campus Safety Services.

Additionally, the university has partnered with former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who will audit all of Temple’s current campus safety services. Ramsey’s tenure as commissioner, from January 2008 to January 2016, saw the city’s homicide rate drop 37% while violent crime decreased 31%. Ramsey previously co-chaired President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Temple’s approach to solving violence in the region is a holistic one and it will continue to invest in, and support, programs that create educational opportunities, economic development and research regarding substance use disorders, trauma and violence reduction.

Gun violence is partly a result of systemic systems of oppression. In the near future, we will establish a university institute focused on violence reduction.

Temple University Hospital also continues to look at gun violence through a different lens with its Temple Safety Net, led by Amy Goldberg, surgeon-in-chief for Temple Health and interim dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and Scott Charles, trauma outreach manager. A number of its innovative outreach programs, like Cradle to the Grave, Fighting Chance and Safe Bet, continue to help reduce the number of Philadelphians who suffer firearm injuries.

No. In June 2020, Temple University announced it would no longer fund the Philadelphia Police Foundation. The funds previously allocated for this purpose were reallocated to support social justice programs at the university, including the creation of the Center for Anti-Racism. 

The university continues to pay the Philadelphia Police Department for supplemental patrols and safety services.

The university works closely with the Philadelphia Police Department. The Temple dispatching system is integrated with the Philadelphia Police 911. In addition to Temple patrol, officers from the 22nd police district patrol the areas surrounding the campus and collaborate daily with Temple regarding directing patrols. Temple University financially supports the supplemental Philadelphia Police patrols around the campus area into our neighboring community where students live off campus.

Philadelphia Police Department officers on patrol in this area maintain communication through the coordination with Temple’s dispatchers and Philadelphia Police dispatchers. As a communication redundancy, Temple patrol supervisors have Philadelphia Police radios to coordinate communication in real time. They are able to respond in a timely, coordinated manner. 

The university has begun discussions with neighborhood groups to establish a neighborhood watch program for the areas around campus.

Through this new partnership, public safety ambassadors will regularly patrol through the neighborhoods in and around campus. Trained in crime prevention, these ambassadors will help amplify the efforts of the Temple University Police Department and the Allied security officers.