EXCLUSIVE: Temple University Campus Police Department Operating At 60% Staffing Amid Rising Crime, Union President Says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Rising crime around Temple University is becoming more challenging for campus police. Eyewitness News has obtained exclusive information about what officers are running up against.
It was yet another violent weekend in North Philadelphia and the president of the union representing Temple University police says staffing levels for their department should be at 100%. They are only at 60% and he says with everything that's unfolding on the streets around campus, that number is no longer sustainable for safety.
It's 10:30 a.m. Monday and there's a reported armed robbery at North 17th and Norris Streets in North Philadelphia.
It's an alarming start to the day for Temple University junior Bella Azcona and her roommates.
"10 a.m., someone was walking to class and there was an armed robbery, I actually just walked past that, I was on that same street five minutes earlier," Azcona said.
Two double shootings, one where a Temple police officer was shot at but left uninjured, have punctuated a steady drumbeat of violence around the North Philadelphia campus.
Some parents say they've upended their schedules to drive their daughter to and from university locations to guarantee her safety. She stopped using her car because of the high rate of carjackings.
They say they feel powerless.
"Academically, Temple is a phenomenal school," Suzie Meller said, "but I wish I could pull her out and I would never recommend that anyone sends their kid here because of what's going on. Because at the end of the day, getting kids home safe is all that matters."
The Temple University Police union president says they're at a staffing crisis and contends officers are no longer effective in their jobs. How short-staffed is the force? He says OT figures are in the tens of thousands of hours since July. Reports at 4&5. @CBSPhilly
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) March 21, 2022
In a rare interview, the head of the union representing Temple University police officers says staffing within the department is at a breaking point.
"We do the best we can," Alec Shaffer said.
Shaffer told Eyewitness News Temple police can't "effectively" do their jobs due to its staffing levels.
The department is operating at 60% officer staffing levels and yet, shootings, robberies, and carjackings have persisted, with officers forced to run from one incident to the next. To maintain staffing, Shaffer says overtime rates since July have skyrocketed.
"As a department as a whole, we're at an all-time low in morale," Shaffer said. "Our officers are working day in and day out. We're close to 20,000 hours [of overtime] as police officers working."
Eyewitness News did invite Temple University to take questions on camera, but the university declined our invite. They provided a statement, instead.
"The Temple University Police Association plays a critical role in the safety of our campus community and offers strong support for the surrounding community in North Philadelphia. Given the short notice, we cannot verify the exact number of extra hours that Temple University Police Officers have worked since July, but overtime is a part of police work, as it is imperative that we always have adequate resources in place to keep our community safe. We regularly have our officers cover for one another due to both planned and unplanned absences. Many of our officers have been tasked with working these extra hours during an especially challenging time, and we are immensely grateful for all of their efforts. We know that growing our force is essential to better community policing and we look forward to listening to the officers' concerns and to the upcoming negotiations with this essential service union.
"The safety of the Temple and North Philadelphia communities is our No. 1 priority. Quite simply, nothing else is more important, and we remain deeply committed to working with the community, our partners and stakeholders to find a solution to the violence that is affecting the City of Philadelphia. We recently announced a partnership with former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who will audit all of our campus safety services beginning in April. Last month, we launched a Task Force on Violence Reduction, which includes parents, students, faculty, staff and members of the Philadelphia community. We also recently launched the RAVE Temple Guardian app and disseminated findings from a new study from faculty member Caterina Roman and PhD student Nicole Johnson that assessed shooting dynamics in Philadelphia from Jan. 1, 2017, through June 30, 2021. We will continue to regularly share updates regarding our latest campus safety enhancements moving forward."
The university in recent weeks has announced efforts to confront the increases in violent crime, including the addition of security personnel and aggressive plans to hire more officers.
Shaffer says those measures by the school haven't been enough and have left the department stretched to its limits.
"We don't have the personnel," Shaffer said. "We've been reaching out asking for help. At the end of the day, we need police officers."
Shaffer adds the department would attract more candidates with better wages, better benefits and newer equipment.