Mom of Philadelphia college student hires private security to patrol streets, protect students amid soaring violent crime

A Temple University mother took her son's protection into her own hands recently by hiring private security to patrol the streets near where he lives as violent crime in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, continues to soar.

What are the details?

Jennifer Hedberg told WTXF-TV last week that after prayerful consideration, she and her husband decided to hire JNS Protection Services, a private security firm, to secure the neighborhood. Now, five days a week, the security detail executes foot and car patrols to make sure the area is safe for students.

"It helps with peace of mind and I feel like if anything ever did happen to him, at least I’ll know I did everything I could," Hedberg explained to the outlet. "I really get frustrated with prayer hand emojis and all I can do is pray and hope he’s okay. I do those things, but I also needed to do some kind of action."

The concerned parent said she wanted to do everything she could to keep her son safe after the tragic death of fellow Temple University student, 21-year-old Samuel Collington, last fall.

Collington had been unloading his vehicle upon returning from a Thanksgiving break spent with his family when he was shot and killed in broad daylight by an armed burglar. The killer had been charged with armed carjacking months before, but his case was dropped by the city's progressive district attorney.

"As the weeks and months went by, my son was reporting to me that there were still pretty serious crimes happening in his neighborhood," Hedberg recalled. "My husband and I put our heads together and decided let’s see if we can get private security."

That's when she connected with JNS Protection Services and asked the firm to conduct patrols in areas near campus where many students live. Hedberg insisted she is not trying to step on the toes of campus safety or local police. Rather, she only wants to add an extra layer of security.

What else?

In an opinion piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist Jenice Armstrong defended Hedberg's decision, noting that last year, Philadelphia experienced all-time highs in homicides and this year, the numbers are on pace to rise again.

Armstrong noted that only a few weeks before Collington's death, another young man, 18-year-old Amir Jones, was killed in a robbery while walking with his girlfriend early one morning near Temple's campus.

The columnist added that this isn't an upper-class helicopter parent situation — the Hedbergs are middle-class parents justifiably concerned for their child's safety. Hedberg reportedly works as a teacher while her husband is employed as a field technician for T-Mobile in suburban Massachusetts.

Now, other parents are joining in on the effort. Armstrong said the plan was initially to have JNS patrol the neighborhoods three days a week. But when other parents heard about the plan, they stepped in to expand the patrols to five days a week.

JNS CEO Jasmine Jackson told the Inquirer, "These parents need to be able to be [hundreds] of miles away from their child and know that they are going to be able to get home safe. We ride around that perimeter, all throughout the blocks, take pictures and make reports, and just be a deterrent."

Hedberg plans to keep funding the operation until her son's graduation this spring, at which point other parents have vowed to take over the effort.