Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Last week, when Christine Nichols got off work, she found her car’s windshield smashed. Nichols, a KU almunus, said the incident was a reality check for her.
“It made me feel a little less safe than before, not as naïve as before,” Nichols said.
Although nothing from her car was stolen, she said she wouldn’t be keeping valuables in her car anymore. With much of the student population away for the summer months, crime still remains to be a problem for the campus and the city, even though the frequency may have decreased.
Captain Schuyler Bailey with the KU Public Safety Office said the crime rate on campus was affected by the lessened student population.
Bailey said that when 30,000 students moved away, the crime rate dwindled along with the population. “Everything decreases,” Bailey said. “The parking lots aren’t filled with cars, the dorms aren’t filled with laptops and iPods.”
Amy Stack, Kansas City, Kan., senior, said she thought fewer people on campus was disquieting.
“It almost feels less safe on campus because there’s fewer people around,” Stack said. “It feels like there would be less people in the case of an incident.”
Bailey said the Public Safety Office made no changes to its operations for the summer because the dorms were filled with summer camps participants.
“We’ve got a population to protect,” Bailey said. “It’s just a different population.”
Sergeant Bill Cory with the Lawrence Police Department said Lawrence was generally a safe community to live in year-round, with students or without.
Like the Public Safety Office, the Lawrence Police Department makes no changes to its operations during the summer months.
“We stay busy year-round,” Cory said.
When asked about the relatively recent shootings at the Hawk, Cory said that having a shooting wasn’t out of the ordinary for Lawrence anymore.
“One instance in March isn’t going to affect the crime rate in June, July or August,” Cory said.
Crime statistics from the Lawrence Police Department Web site do not show a disproportionate change in the number of crimes for the summer. The Kansas Incident Based Reporting System Statistics (KIBRS), which counts all the crimes and offenses committed year-round, accounts the summer months of June, July and August for about 25 percent of the total number of crimes.
Heidi Raak, owner of The Raven bookstore, said she wasn’t worried about crime except for shoplifting, which she said she thought would always happen. She said that she didn’t think the student population increased crime and that she felt no more or less safe in the summer.
William Riggs, Lawrence sophomore, had his garage door vandalized last week and had to replace it for $400. He said he didn’t feel any more or less safe since the incident, and didn’t find the summer any safer than the other seasons. Although the college student population is mostly gone, he said he thought that the poor economy had given local youths fewer job opportunities over the summer and led them to act out with vandalism.
— — Edited by Derek Zarda
Violent crimes on the rise
Reports of campus crime show decrease in ...
While Lawrence has reported an overall increase in crime, reported crimes on ...
Female student reportedly raped
The incident was said to have occurred Sunday night in Oliver Hall.
Lawrence residents lose cars to theft, but ...
Lawrence police warn about leaving your car unattended after more than five ...
Campus burglaries on the decline
Based on records from the past 12 years, campus burglaries have been ...
Precautions before break ensure safety
Before leaving town for the week, students should do small things to ...
Be smart, safe during fall break
Last year’s break brought an increase in crime. The KU Public Safety ...
Criminals frequenting area east of campus
Crime statistics indicate that the north, south and west areas of Lawrence ...
KU releases annual security report
Crime rates at the University have decreased by 34 percent in the ...
Crime rate ‘spike’ may be deceiving
Police, officials say students may have perceived more crime, but official numbers ...
Car vandalism rattles Oliver residents
The incidents have ranged in severity from minor paint damage to burglary.
On-campus crimes decline during break
The KU Public Safety Office saw less activity while students were away.
Shots fired at Mrs. E’s
Captain Schuyler Bailey of KU Public Safety reports no suspects yet.
Reports of indecent exposure on campus increase
Two of the three reports of indecent exposure since 2009 occurred this ...
Break leaves students vulnerable to looting
Students can take certain precautions before leaving for their Spring Break vacations.
Securing their safety
Student reports rape at Lorimar Town Home
An unidentified man reportedly raped a KU student in her Lorimar Town ...
Tips for staying safe late at night
Students have a number of options to get home in a safe ...
Campus buses offer fewer routes to students ...
In response to a decreased number of passengers and a host of ...
Oread Neighborhood safety in question
Lawrence police try to monitor the area, commonly known as the “student ...
Student Senate to vote on hate crime ...
Students at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house were surprised to find the ...
A look at KU's changing face of ...
University's turbulent past has evolved into a somewhat tranquil state of activism.
Focusing on safety
With finals in full swing, stressed students may behave in unsafe ways, ...
Students react to parking lot crime
Assault reiterates dorm safety importance
Students living on campus need to be aware of surroundings to ensure ...
When traveling, drink and be wary
The University's Public Safety Office urges students to take precautions while drinking ...
Users abuse Facebook
Editorial: Students should oppose retirement of safety ...
Recent crime in Lawrence necessitates keeping the fee.
Theft tops the list of campus crimes
Campus robbery is still a problem despite a steady decrease in recent ...
Police investigate slashed tires
Editorial: International grad students deserve on-campus housing
Business slower during Summer months
Business at the Kansas Memorial Union has decreased since school let out ...
Bicycle security requires extra steps
Bike thefts caused more than $6,000 in losses so far this semester.
Silent auction to fund the community shelter ...
A signed men’s basketball is among the items to be auctioned at ...
Simmermon: It’s a bad day when you ...
Lots of people who live here feel invincible, like they can walk ...
Coalitions offer their platforms to campus
ConnectKU, Students of Liberty, and United Students hope to appeal to students ...
Reported rape over fall break
A student was attacked behind The Wagon Wheel early Wednesday morning.
Ford plans the end of the Crown ...
Many police departments will choose a new car once the dominant model ...
KU Public Safety debuts crime-mapping project
Users can view information about on-campus crimes through CrimeReports.com.
Morning Brew: Aldrich and Reed not an ...
The low-key roommates haven’t fallen into the lawbreaking habits of former athletes.
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Crime still an issue despite fewer students
Haha. Yeah, sure. Local youths. Not the influx of tramps.
I remember a couple of years ago someone broke into my car downtown and stole my backpack. They got away with a crappy backpack, a notebook, some library books and some western civ books.
"A Hobo is a person that travels to work. A tramp is a person that travels and won't work. A bum is a person that will neither travel or work."
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID