Special Services & Victim Support
The Special Services department offers comprehensive victim support for any member of the University community who experiences any type of crime or criminal harm, in any location. Special Services has highly trained staff on call 24-hours a day to offer immediate assistance, including crisis intervention, accompaniment to legal and medical proceedings, options counseling and advocacy, and linkages to other University and community resources, as well as city, state, and federal resources.
Special Services is not bound by geographical boundaries. Calling Special Services does not require you to file a police report, but we will provide you with options, and will assist you in the process if you so choose.
A prominent part of Special Services’ operations is investigation, support, and transparency related to interpersonal violence and sensitive crimes such as rape, sexual assault, relationship or domestic violence, harassment, and stalking. For definitions and additional resource information, visit the Penn Violence Prevention website or Module 3 in this site.
The Special Services team also responds to critical incidents to address and alleviate community distress and provides safety presentations and self-defense & empowerment courses.
Contact
Special Services is here to support you. We are physically in the office during regular business hours and extended evening hours, on-call, as well as available by phone or email. We encourage those who are able to call and/or email us to reach someone in Special Services.
Special Services
4040 Chestnut Street
215-898-6600
specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu
Phone:
- Monday-Friday 9am-5pm: 215-898-4481
- After-hours/ 24-hour line: 215-898-6600
- Emergencies: 215-573-3333