Thanks for correcting my understanding, which was incorrect.
I still find the tenor of this discussion perplexing. I really don't see the fact that the guy has a printed business card carrying a UCD logo, and identifying him (correctly) as a Philadelphia police officer-to be anything sinister or confusing. I know why AL is making this fuss, but I find the level of your ire about this somewhat unexpected-- You said: "It is a deliberate blurring of authority that further creates the impression that UCD is a governmental entity in and of itself, with authority over everything in this area, including the duly sworn officers of the Philadelphia Police Department." I don't read it that way-I read the card as stating that he's a Philadelphia Police Officer (if it really mattered, I would want to see a badge anyway)-and that the UCD paid for printing the card, as well as providing the office space, phone, and email addresses. So-our viewpoints differ-I do see the UCD as "helpful" rather than "controlling" or "taking over." When it comes to police activities, I'd agree that it is pretty important that the lines of authority be direct, and lead to the civil authorities, and not a private corporation. Have you had experiences in that specific area-police activity-that you see as examples of the UCD overstepping a boundary? From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of KAREN ALLEN Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 4:29 PM To: UnivCity listserv Subject: RE: [UC] Who do sworn officers of the Philadelphia Police report to? "I believe that a number of members of Penn's police force are also Philadelphia police officers...." Those beliefs and suspicions are incorrect. Police officers cannot work for two different police departments at the same time. Penn Police and the Philadelphia Police are two separate police departments. They have overlapping jurisdictions insofar as the Penn Police patrol area falls within the Phila. Police Dept's 18th District. Sharing the same patrol area does not mean that the two departments are one and the same. The Lieutenant in question has one job title, that of being a Lieutenant of the Philadelphia Police Department. He is an Officer employed by the City of Philadelphia. He is detailed to a Philadelphia Police substation on premises donated by the University City District. This arrangement is similar to the former Police Substation at 50th and Baltimore donated by the then-operater of the Firehouse Farmer's Market [now Dock Street] and paid for by Cedar Park Neighbors, and the current Squirrel Hill Substation operated at 46th and Chester. Although private and community entities provided the money and premises in order for the substations to operate, no one dared suggest that doing so made the Police Officers detailed to those substations the employees or subordinates of those non-police entities. Being detailed to the substation donated by UCD does not make the Lieutenant an employee of the University City District, any more than being detailed to the sports complex would make him an employee of the Eagles or the Phillies. It is deceitful of UCD and demeaning to the Lieutenant to make it appear that the Lieutenant is subordinate to UCD administration, rather than being the Commander of a Philadelphia Police Substation that happens to be supplied by UCD. He is responsible to the Philadelphia Police chain of command, not to Lewis Wendell or UCD. It is a deliberate blurring of authority that further creates the impression that UCD is a governmental entity in and of itself, with authority over everything in this area, including the duly sworn officers of the Philadelphia Police Department. Karen Allen ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: univcity@list.purple.com Subject: RE: [UC] Who do sworn officers of the Philadelphia Police report to? Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 23:57:27 -0400 I believe that a number of members of Penn's police force are also Philadelphia police officers. I suspect that they are clear on the lines of authority, that card notwithstanding. Presumably the officer in question has two job titles, and chose the more impressive of the two to put on the card. I think this is a long standing arrangement, and presumably the University and the Philadelphia police department both find it to their advantage. I really don't know more than this-asking the officer in question directly would probably get more useful information. He can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED], or 215 243 0555, extension 241. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of KAREN ALLEN Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 9:58 PM To: 'University City List' Subject: RE: [UC] Who do sworn officers of the Philadelphia Police report to? The card was not for a Lieutenant of the University of Pennsylvania Police department. It was for a Lieutenant of the PHILADELPHIA Police Department. The PHILADELPHIA Police Department and its employees are not employees of Penn, the Penn Police, or of UCD. It is a governmental agency of the CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, wholly supported by and answerable to the citizens of Philadelphia and its elected representatives, and NOT to UCD. Having a UCD business card with the name of a ranking member of the PHILADELPHIA Police Department mentioned in small letters symbolically, if not actually, subjects the Lieutenant to the perception that he is nothing more than a subordinate of UCD and its administrators, and that UCD has authority in Philadelphia Police matters which supercedes that of the Lieutenant's actual employer, the citizens and elected representatives of the City of Philadelphia. Karen Allen
