UPPS Data

UPPS understands the importance of providing key information to the public as it relates to the role of law enforcement in the community. Therefore, through our Transparency and Accountability Initiative, the public now has access to various data and information related to use of force, arrests and more. Moving forward, data will be released on an annual basis no later than March of the following calendar year. 

Use of Force Data

University Police and Public Safety at Penn State defines force as all actions above non-resistant compliant handcuffing. Unresisting (cooperative) handcuffing occurs when the subject complies with the officer’s verbal commands and/or willingly allows the officers to position their arms to apply handcuffs, or the subject positions their arms as commanded for the application of handcuffs.

Each instance of Use of Force is classified as a single episode.

Use of force reports are documented by the officer(s) who used force during an encounter with an individual or group. It is possible that there may be several Use of Force reports documented for one individual person or group. Therefore, it is possible that there may be more total uses of force than there are individuals involved in an incident.

When multiple categories of force were used, only the highest level of force applied is listed.

2024 Use of Force Data by Race
 
  White African American Asian Other Total 
Restraint Empty Hands 23 6 0 1 30
Restraint Baton 0 0 0 0 0
Restraint Handcuffing 5 1 0 0 6
Baton Strike 1 0 0 0 1
OC Deployment 0 0 0 0 0
OC Discharge  0 0 0 0 0
Taser Deployment  0 0 0 0 0
Taser Discharge 1 0 0 0 1
Firearm Deployment  5 0 1 0 6
Firearm Discharge 0 0 0 0 0
Total  35 7 1 1 44

 

2024 Use of Force Data by Ethnicity
 
  Hispanic Non-Hispanic Unknown Total 
Restraint Empty Hands 4 24 2 30
Restraint Baton 0 1 0 1
Restraint Handcuffing 0 4 2 6
Baton Strike 0 0 0 0
OC Deployment 0 0 0 0
OC Discharge  0 0 0 0
Taser Deployment  0 0 0 0
Taser Discharge 0 0 1 1
Firearm Deployment  0 6 0 6
Firearm Discharge 0 0 0 0
Total  4 35 5 44
2023 Use of Force Data by Race/Ethnicity
 
  White African American Hispanic Asian Other Total 
Restraint Empty Hands 34 16 1 2 0 53
Restraint Baton 0 0 0 0 0 0
Restraint Handcuffing 9 1 0 1 0 11
Baton Strike 1 0 0 0 0 1
OC Deployment 0 0 0 0 0 0
OC Discharge  0 0 0 0 0 0
Taser Deployment  1 1 0 0 0 2
Taser Discharge 0 0 0 0 0 0
Firearm Deployment  2 1 0 0 0 3
Firearm Discharge 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total  47 19 1 3 0 70

Definitions:

Deployment – Any time either an intermediate weapon (Taser or OC) or a firearm is removed from a holster or mount while on duty.

Discharge – Any time either an intermediate weapon (Taser or OC) or a firearm is used or fired while on duty.

Arrest Data

 

2024 Arrest Data - Penn State University Police and Public Safety
 
Campus Location District White African American / Black American Indian / Alaskan Native Asian Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander Race Total Hispanic Non-Hispanic Ethnicity Total
Abington Eastern 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 3 3
Berks Eastern 4 2 0 0 0 6 0 6 6
Brandywine Eastern 5 2 0 1 0 8 2 6 8
Great Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harrisburg Eastern 5 8 0 1 0 14 4 10 14  
Hazleton Eastern 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Lehigh Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Schuylkill Eastern 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2
Wilkes-Barre Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Worthington Scranton Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
York Eastern 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Total Eastern 17 16 0 2 0 35 7 28 35
Altoona  Western 9 2 0 2 0 13 2 11 13
Beaver Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carlisle Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DuBois Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Erie Western 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 2
Fayette Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greater Allegheny Western 1 6 0 0 0 7 0 7 7
Mont Alto Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
New Kensington Western 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Shenango Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total  Western 12 9 0 2 0 23 2 21 23
University Park University Park 388 42 1 36 0 467 29 438 467
Total ALL UPPS 417 67 1 40 0 525 29 438 467


2023 Arrest Data - Penn State University Police and Public Safety
Campus Location District White African American / Black American Indian / Alaskan Native Asian Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander Race Total Hispanic Non-Hispanic Ethnicity Total
Abington Eastern 11 2 0 0 0 13 0 13 13
Berks Eastern 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 3 3
Brandywine Eastern 0 3 0 1 0 4 0 4 4
Great Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harrisburg Eastern 4 6 0 3 0 13 2 11 13
Hazleton Eastern 2 4 0 0 0 6 1 5 6
Lehigh Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Schuylkill Eastern 0 5 0 0 0 5 0 5 5
Wilkes-Barre Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Worthington Scranton Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
York Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Eastern 18 21 0 5 0 44 3 41 44
Altoona Western 39 8 0 1 0 48 3 45 48
Beaver Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carlisle Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DuBois Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Erie Western 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2
Fayette Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greater Allegheny Western 3 2 0 1 0 6 0 6 6
Mont Alto Western 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2
New Kensington Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shenango Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total  Western 46 10 0 2 0 58 3 55 58
University Park University Park 356 52 0 38 0 446 17 429 446
Total ALL UPPS 420 83 0 45 0 548 23 525 548

Citizen Complaint Data

UPPS categorizes complaints as either “Service Complaints” or “Professional Standards Investigations.”  

  • Service Complaints are defined as citizen complaints concerning an officer’s level of professional service and/or demeanor during an interaction with a member of the community.  
  • Professional Standards Investigations are conducted when an accusation is brought against an officer that alleges the officer violated any elements of established UPPS policy or the law.  

Regardless of whether a complaint is classified as a Service Complaint or Professional Standards Investigation, a department supervisor is assigned to investigate the complaint. These investigations follow a strict set of established guidelines to determine whether there was a failure to adhere to professional expectations and/or a violation of UPPS policy or law. If an investigation is founded (i.e. determined to be factual), officers could face a variety of disciplinary actions up to and including termination.  

2024 Citizen Complaint Data

UPPS received 30 total complaints

  • 12 were categorized as Service Complaints
    • 4 were founded
    • 8 were unfounded
  • 18 were categorized as Professional Standards Investigations
    • 11 were founded
    • 7 were unfounded
       

2023 Citizen Complaint Data

UPPS received 34 total complaints

  • 8 were categorized as a Service Complaint
    • 3 were founded
    • 5 were unfounded
  • 26 were categorized as Professional Standards Investigations
    • 15 were founded
    • 11 were unfounded

Constructive comments about our service, positive or negative, will help UPPS to improve and achieve its goals. At any time, Penn State community members can file complaints or commendations about our police officers through our online form. 

Traffic Stops and Citations

2024 Traffic Stops and Citations Data
 
  White African American / Black American Indian / Alaskan Native Asian Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander Unknown Race Total Hispanic Non-Hispanic Unknown Ethnicity Total
Traffic Stops 1,025 205 1 250 1 9 1,491 71 1,415 5 1,491
Citations 78 19 0 37 0 3 137 6 129 2 137

 

 

2023 Traffic Stops and Citations Data
Campus Location District White African American / Black American Indian / Alaskan Native Asian Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander Unknown Race Total Hispanic Non-Hispanic Ethnicity Total
Abington Eastern 9 6 0 0 0 0 15 0 15 15
Berks Eastern 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 2
Brandywine Eastern 37 15 0 3 0 0 55 1 54 55
Great Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lehigh Valley Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harrisburg Eastern 152 50 0 120 0 7 329 24 301 329
Hazleton Eastern 48 3 0 2 1 1 55 12 42 55
Schuylkill Eastern 10 1 0 0 0 0 11 1 10 11
Wilkes-Barre Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Worthington Scranton Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
York Eastern 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Eastern 257 75 0 126 1 8 467 38 424 467
Altoona Western 82 12 0 6 0 1 101 4 95 101
Beaver Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carlisle Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DuBois Western 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Erie Behrend Western 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2
Fayette Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greater Allegheny Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mont Alto Western 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
New Kensington Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shenango Western 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total  Western 86 12 0 6 0 1 105 4 99 105
University Park University Park 503 98 3 150 0 8 762 32 728 762
Total ALL UPPS 846 185 3 282 1 17 1,334 74 1,251 1,334

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