Temple University shares details of contract aimed at police recruitment, retention

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Temple University is starting the new school year under a recently signed five-year contract with the union representing campus police officers, dispatchers and some security officers.

University leaders say the deal, which was signed in June, will help recruit and retain personnel as students return to campus for the start of the fall semester.

Classes begin Monday, and university officials say students are returning to a safe campus -- thanks in part to the agreement, which provides salary increases, enhanced benefits and other quality-of-life improvements. University leaders also said the contract supports Temple's recently launched strategic plan, "Forward with Purpose."

"Welcome back to one of the safest urban campuses in America," Temple University President John Fry said Thursday.

The agreement raises salaries for police officers to levels that compete with those offered by the Philadelphia Police Department, according to university officials.

"So, a starting salary for a recruit officer -- which means they're gonna go to the police academy -- would be about $68,00 a year," said Andrew Lanetti, President of the Temple University Police Association.

University officials said that figure is about the same as the starting salary for newly recruited Philadelphia police officers.

The contract is also intended to attract experienced officers. Under the agreement, Temple will offer about $92,000 annually to officers with three years of experience and $100,000 annually to officers with at least five years of experience.

The compensation package also includes annual salary increases of 3%, as well as anniversary milestone increases of up to 6.5%.

"Make sure those packages are compelling and competitive so as we go into the market to recruit officers, we're going to be successful," Fry said.

University leaders said retaining current officers is another goal of the agreement.

"We have a lot of great officers here and they've given many years of their life dedicated to the university and the community," said Denise Wilhelm, Temple's interim vice president for public safety.

Safety remains a major concern for students on Temple's urban campus.

"Definitely in the surrounding areas, I feel like sometimes my safety can be infringed, so I'm happy that this new infrastructure is in place," said Temple sophomore Brielle Bama.

Temple officials said an independent study highlighted the need for the university to hire and train more officers. Fry said the salary increases were already budgeted as part of a long-term plan.