The University Student Senate hosted David Finnie, assistant vice president of Public Safety and Security, at its March 25 weekly meeting for a discussion on current issues surrounding Public Safety.
Finnie, who started at St. Joe’s in August 2023, was invited by Claire O’Byrne ’25, speaker for Student Senate, to give a brief presentation and then answer questions from the senators.
Finnie’s presentation reviewed basic facts about Public Safety, and mentioned there are 125 Blue Lights and 700 cameras across the Hawk Hill and University City campuses. Finnie also emphasized the relationship between Public Safety and the Philadelphia and Lower Merion Police, saying that officers in both forces have a special radio connection to communicate directly with Public Safety.
After the presentation was over, senators began to ask Finnie questions about a variety of Public Safety-related issues they have faced and heard about from constituents. Three of the main issues were:
On-campus thefts
Finnie confirmed the individual responsible for a string of on-campus thefts this semester has been arrested. He also urged students to “take ownership of [their] property” and keep a close eye on their possessions in order to prevent crimes like these from occuring in the future.
TripShot
In response to concerns about current flaws with the escort system, Finnie explained that Public Safety is currently working on bringing the TripShot system to Hawk Hill. This system, which is currently available for transportation in and around the UCity campus, allows students to order a ride on-demand between 5 p.m. and midnight on weekdays and to track the ride vehicle as it approaches their location. St. Joe’s will be hiring drivers for these rides to “free the officers up” so that Public Safety can be more present on campus, Finnie said.
Safety notifications
When asked about the perceived low number of campus-wide notifications about safety issues, Finnie said that Public Safety’s goal is to issue “timely warnings if [they] think the population could be in jeopardy.” He later clarified this meant if an event deemed significant by Public Safety occurs within a mile around campus, then the Office of Public Safety and Security, Ross Radish J.D., vice president of student life and dean of students, and the office of Marketing and Communications will collaborate to draft a warning for the campus community.
In addition to these topics, Finnie said if any students report having issues with Public Safety, from escort drivers not arriving to officers being asleep on duty, Finnie urged students to call the Public Safety dispatch office and then ask to speak to a supervisor. These reports will then be relayed to him so he can address their concerns.
When asked about the current issues with Public Safety, Baylee Fingerhut ’26, chair of Public Safety on Student Senate, said many problems could be attributed to the fact that Finnie was only appointed at the beginning of the academic year.
James Janco ’25, secretary of student affairs on Student Senate, echoed this belief.
“The office is going through transition,” Janco said. “So I think we chalk up this past year to maybe a grace period, but now we are expecting action pretty rapidly on a lot of these things.”
