Park and walks, annual security camera upgrades, and an enhanced social media presence are just some of the dozens of changes made to Temple University’s Department of Public Safety (TUDPS) in response to recommendations made in a university safety audit that was released two years ago.

Conducted by 21CP Solutions LLC and released in April 2023, more than 95% of the audit’s recommendations are either completed or in progress. 

Chief of Police and Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin said the changes reflect the hard work of the administrators, police officers, security officers and dispatchers within her department as well as by many other partners across the university.

“We are proud of the significant progress made to Temple Public Safety over the last two years. This audit took a deep look at our policies, procedures and units and our successful execution shows the strides we’ve made in improving community safety and internal accountability. We’ve implemented key changes, and the results show that our efforts are making a real difference. While there’s more work to do, this exceptional progress is a very strong step in the right direction,” Griffin said.

TUDPS launched a Safety Initiatives Dashboard in September 2023, which allows anyone to see where the department stands with progress on the audit recommendations. According to the dashboard, 56 recommendations have been completed. 

For instance, one completed recommendation involved training Temple police officers to respond to on-campus protests and demonstrations. According to Griffin, university leaders also went through incident response training conducted by Temple’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in August 2024.  

“Last summer, we did a tabletop exercise for First Amendment-protected activities. It included nearly 50 university leaders,” said Len Clark, director of OEM. “We also reviewed all the university’s policies. It was a big success and we’ll continue to hold these. We have another one planned for this summer that will include several different scenarios.”

OEM also drafted a new emergency operations plan, which Temple President John Fry approved in January 2025. Additionally, Temple police officers were provided new training in early 2025.

In all, Temple Public Safety completed 12 recommendations in the training and development category, 11 in the collaboration and communication category, 10 in the strategy and administration category, four in the policies and procedures category, four in the technology and infrastructure category, and one in the personnel category.

There are also several key new positions that have been added to TUDPS, including the deputy director of organizational affairs, the associate director of administrative operations, the captain of professional standards and advocacy, the director of tactical and professional development, captain of the engagement unit and security operations, and many others. The changes improved both the recruitment and hiring processes, resulting in 19 police officers who were hired over the last two years and four cadets who are currently in the police academy. 

TUDPS has also improved safety in other ways. It launched Park and Walks in October 2023 to increase foot patrols within the Temple community. Since its launch, about 130 additional hours of foot patrols are taking place every month. Several hundred security cameras are now replaced every year in a new annual upgrade process. Police officers’ schedules also changed to 12-hour shifts,  which was a change that benefits both police officers and the Temple community who they protect and serve.

President Fry said that the work of several community partners have also contributed to many safety improvements.

“The progress made by the department since the 21CP Solutions audit is tremendous as it has helped guide the Department of Public Safety’s operations and ensure they continue to be a leading university law enforcement agency,” Fry said. “As I shared during my investiture address, my top priority is to implement a comprehensive place-based strategy focused on further improving the safety of our campus and neighborhood, so we can cultivate a safe and welcoming place to live, learn and work. This audit has been helpful in informing that work.”