Matthew Johnson

In a city that already hosts the fourth largest police force in the United States, two of Philadelphia’s universities have created yet another layer of policing. Set in predominantly black communities, the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University host the largest private and public university police departments in the nation, respectively. Partnering with the American Friends Service Committee, this project works with black students at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as with black residents in the surrounding neighborhoods, to uncover the rise and consequences of university police forces. Ultimately, this project is an effort to explore how these universities have contributed to mass incarceration and to chart a new way forward.