This Just In. Neumann University is one of the safest colleges in the Philadelphia area. Don’t believe me? Well take a look at the Jeanne Clery Act annual report that provides us information regarding the safety of our campus.
This report is available to both students and faculty members in any university. The resource contains data on the number of crimes that have been committed in the past year, along with regulations on how to prevent certain types of crimes from happening. While reading the Clery, I noticed that Neumann University has the lowest percentile in crime. Throughout the years of 2019-2021 there has barely been any crime to report, except for the few which have occurred throughout the years of 2019-2020.
There was one assault report in 2021 and one fondling case as well in 2019. The number of thefts was two in 2019 and four in 2020. We had two cases of vandalism, one in 2020 and the other in 2021. One incident of disorderly conduct (2020). The good news is we had no hate crimes in 2019-2021.
In the residence halls on campus, we have zero percentage of crimes related to any of the following: murder, manslaughter, rape, sodomy, sex offenses both forcible and non-forcible, aggravated assault, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The total number of fires in the residence halls (Flynn Hall, Cunningham Hall, O’Neil Hall, Buoni Building, and Chiara Honors House) is zero. No injuries, deaths or property damage caused by fire.
On November 5th, I had the opportunity to speak with the director of campus safety, Leon Francis, who has been employed at Neumann University for 19 years. He is a man who has quite the impressive work ethic. Francis began his career as an assistant director of public safety at Swarthmore College where he resided for 17 years. He was also a man in blue, a police officer for 12 years in Delaware County’s Parkside borough.
Regarding his education, Leon arrived at Neumann University with transferred credits which he used to obtain his bachelor’s degree. From there he studied liberal studies, with a core concentration in Criminal justice. He moved on to get his master’s in organizational and strategic leadership. This gave him the opportunity to become a teacher and lecturer in two courses about the judicial process and forensic science for two or three years.
In 2019 there was an incident concerning eight drug offenses on campus. When I asked Leon about the issue, he was able to give me a quick response to the story behind it. He admitted ‘’These occurred, they were not on campus. ‘’ People were outside in the parking lot and the police were coming through doing a routine patrol, and they smelled an odor of marijuana. ‘’So, they stopped the car, got out and observed the field and the people in the parking lot to discover that they had been smoking marijuana.’’
‘’They cited them. They’re considered arrests when they are cited. They weren’t handcuffed or taken down to the police station.’’ The citation that they gave them was under the township ordinance. ‘’So that’s where that occurred that’s why we had to carry it as a drug offense.’’
Leon Francis is also a person who likes to see change. Did you know that he influenced the idea for the shuttle bus system, along with the parking appeal? When he first came to Neumann, transportation was not that great. There were students who had to walk farther distances to get where they needed. Until Leon voiced his opinion on the matter, which inspired the process of our shuttle bus system. Parking violation was also a problem, but his perception of the situation changed the university’s guidelines. Now, students who have a ticket are able to dispute it by filing an appeal with the university.
Finally, Leon addressed the reputation of the campus and how we are known to be the safest. His humble response emphasized that faculty and staff were responsible. But mainly the students. He said that students here wish to contribute to the campus. “They are responsible, they want to live, learn and work and be safe.’’
He told me that students were once interviewed due to a home invasion that took place years ago, in Aston, one that involved students who lived there. The news media came out and asked students questions about the situation, and their response was astonishing. ‘’The students said I’d rather live on campus, because I have shuttles to take me around. I have campus safety that can transport me.’’
It was refreshing to learn how we as a community work together to provide a safe campus, one with a friendly and helpful staff of faculty members. It was interesting to learn about the implementation of the shuttle buses and parking appeals. Just as it was fascinating to know who started the ideas, Leon Francis - a person who believes that we can continue to be known as the safest campus in Philadelphia if we follow the rules.
‘’I know we will strive to do that,’ he said. “One of the things that you have to understand about crimes, particularly the thefts, is that they are crimes of opportunity. So, if we continue to have students come here with the attitude that safety is very important, I think will uphold that.’’
If you would like to learn more about the Clery report, check out the campus safety website.
