Emergencies: 215-537-3333

Our 24/7 PennComm Emergency Communications center is always available for you. Call anytime for any police, fire, or medical emergencies at 215-573-3333.
PennComm also provides connections to walking escorts, vehicle assistance, and more.

Bluelight Phones:

If you observe a potential safety hazard, need a walking escort, or require Penn Police assistance, contact the Division of Public Safety from one of more than over 300 blue-light phones on campus and in the surrounding community. Just pick up the receiver or press the button.

Uniformed Allied Universal Public Safety Officers provide walking escorts to all campus locations. Officers are dispatched by radio and will accompany you from one campus location to another, to your parked vehicle, to a Penn Transit Stop or to an on-campus SEPTA regional transit stop.

Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, between 30th to 43rd Streets and Market Street to Baltimore Avenue.

Escorts also extends west to 50th Street, and north/south from Spring Garden to Woodland Avenue, between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m. via the University’s partnership with the University District Ambassador Program.

How to Request a Walking Escort

• Ask any Public Safety Officer on patrol or inside a building
• Call 215-898-WALK(9255) or 511 (from campus phone)
• Use one of the many building and blue-light ephones located on and off Penn’s Campus.

Any member of the Penn community can utilize this service by calling 215-898-HELP(4357).  Calls will be answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by Division of Public Safety professionals trained in mental health referrals by staff from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Learn more: The HELP Line

Safety Strategies: Theft Awareness

Safety Strategies: Personal Safety

Safety Strategies: Computer/Online Safety: Preventing Fraud & ID Theft

Safety Strategies: Residence Safety

Safety Strategies: How to Respond to Theft of an Occupied Vehicle Theft taken by Force

Safety Strategies: Walk/Ride/Drive SMART

Safety Strategies: Package Theft

Safety Strategies: Phone and Email Scams

Penn Guardian is a free smartphone application that is available to anyone with a Penn email address

Registering for Penn Guardian
Registering for the Penn Guardian System is quick and easy! It is a free app for on your smartphone. Simply visit:

App Store for iOS devices

Google Play for Android devices 

and sign up with your Penn email address. Update your profile by adding information such as your physical description, a photo, your address, known allergies or other optional medical information.

The UPennAlert Emergency Notification System enables the University to quickly notify the Penn and surrounding Philadelphia community of critical information during significant emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus.

This is accomplished through three (3) key methods: Personal Messaging; Siren and Public Address Systems; and Digital Displays.

Special Services offers free-of-charge self-defense classes to ALL Penn affiliates. These self-defense trainings empower individuals through communication and physical defense. We provide gender inclusive and expansive courses, separate courses for women and men, and private classes. Also offered, a special DPS Kids Safety Day to teach children important information about how to deal with strangers, how to call for help and how to stay out of dangerous situations, to name a few.

Self-defense registration

Penn students, faculty and staff can register their bicycles, electronic equipment and other valuables online with the University of Pennsylvania Police Department. By registering your property, you will increase the chances of recovery should your property ever be lost or stolen. You will also receive a registration sticker which will help to serve as a visual deterrent.

Students

Penn students may register property by logging on to Campus Express Online, http://campusexpress.upenn.edu, and selecting “My Property Registration.”

Faculty & Staff

Penn faculty and staff may register property by logging on to U@Penn at http://www.upenn.edu/u@penn. Found under the heading “Policies and Procedures”, under the subheading “Safety & Preparedness”,   click on the bullet point for “Property Registration”.

Members of the Division of Public Safety will provide safety information including brochures, videos, and presentations upon request. To request materials or arrange for a presentation, please contact our Special Services Department at (215) 898-4481, email specialservices[at]publicsafety.upenn.edu or complete the presentation request form.