PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The head of Temple University Campus Safety Service is resigning.
Officials at Temple said Thursday that Charlie Leone, who has been involved in the university community for decades, will step down from his post as executive director of public safety next month.
The announcement came following escalating violent crimes on and near Temple's campus in North Philadelphia.
Earlier Thursday morning, a Temple leader announced new plans on increased safety patrols, a grant program involving lighting and cameras on nearby housing, and a neighborhood watch program.
But later that evening, Senior Vice President Ken Kaiser announced that Leone is stepping down, amid the crime and changes happening around campus.
"I came to Temple nearly 40 years ago as a student, and I loved this university so much that I never left," Leone said in a statement. He added that it was just the right time for him personally to step aside.
The University said that as they search for someone to fill the job, Deputy Director Denise Wilhelm will step in as interim executive director of public safety.
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The plan is, according to Temple, that Leone will stay on through April to help with the onboarding of former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who is being brought on to conduct a safety audit, to evaluate security around campus.
Leone will officially step down on April 29.
According to a recent email survey by Temple Student Government, 81% of students living in university-owned housing felt safe. But a little more than half, 56%, felt safe in private housing just off of the North Philadelphia campus.
The survey also asked students to rank their feeling of safety as they walk the campus, from a scale of 1 (not safe) to 5 (very safe). They said that walking at night on weekdays was a 2.41, and nighttime weekend days had a safety rating of 2.18. Daytime ratings were much better: 4.07 on weekdays, 3.73 on weekends.
Student government's director of campus safety, Cory Staples, said the survey gave voice to students on edge after the murder of student Sam Collington last fall.
Mike DeNardo contributed to this report.
