Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Although the overall number of crimes went down, the city of Lawrence saw a sharp rise in both sex crimes and driving under the influence offenses over the last year when compared to 2008.
Some KU students think that the lack of knowledge about the numbers could be contributing to the problem.
“There needs to be a bigger awareness of these problems so they can be avoided,” Lyndsey Carrel, a sophomore from Spring Hill, said.
Rape: 47 in 2008, 71 in 2009 (51 percent increase)
Forcible Sodomy: 13 in 2008, 21 in 2009 (62 percent increase)
Forcible Fondling: 68 in 2008, 55 in 2009 (19 percent decrease)
Incest: 0 in 2008, 2 in 2009
Statutory Rape: 10 in 2008, 14 in 2009 (40 percent increase)
Sex Crimes Overall: 138 in 2008, 163 in 2009 (18 percent increase)
DUIs: 491 in 2008, 612 in 2009 (25 percent increase)
The Lawrence Police Department reported that there were 163 sex crimes reported in 2009, which is an 18 percent increase from 2008, when 138 cases were reported.
The five crimes that occurred in Lawrence in 2009 that the Kansas Statutes define as “sex crimes” are rape, forcible sodomy, forcible fondling, incest and statutory rape.
Lawrence saw a significant increase in the number of rapes last year; the number of reported incidents rose from 47 in 2008 to 71 in 2009 — a 51 percent jump.
“That’s really frightening,” said Renae O’Keefe, a sophomore from Cleveland, Mo. “I had no idea that the number of rapes would be that high.”
Graphic by Tanner Grubbs
DUIs also saw a rise from 491 in 2008 to 612 in 2009 — a 25 percent increase.
Although she is aware of the potential dangers, O’Keefe admits that going out can present a slippery slope.
“I just always make sure there’s someone with me at all times,” O’Keefe said. “It’s easy to get caught up in the scene and be stupid, but you just have to know better than that.”
Carrel lives by similar rules.
“Lock your doors, use SafeRide and just avoid bad situations,” Carrel said.
— Edited by Kristen Liszewski
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Comments
Sex crimes and DUIs on the rise
Take Safe Ride.
I think the rise in DUIs is a good thing, It means that the police have stepped up enforcement on the streets and more people are finally paying the price for drinking and driving. I can't tell you how many people I see on the streets who shouldn't be driving. Every Friday and Saturday night when I'm out working I see tons of people swerving across traffic lines, running stop signs, running red lights and going to the wrong way down Kentucky and Tennessee. It's about time the cops did something about it. Too many people have paid the price of people driving after drinking...
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