Friday, August 29th, 2008

Reports of campus crime show decrease in 2007

Surveillance system seems to contribute to decline

While Lawrence has reported an overall increase in crime, reported crimes on campus have declined in the past decade.

By Francesca Chambers (Contact)

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

The number of crimes reported to KU Public Safety has decreased by 50 percent in the last 10 years, however crime reports in Lawrence is on the rise.

The number of crimes reported to the Lawrence Police Department has increased by 66 percent in the last seven years according to department’s Web site. According to KU Public Safety Office’s Web site, 664 crimes were reported to the office in 2007, which was a 10 percent decrease from the 737 crimes reported in 2006. However, the Lawrence Police Department reported 16,710 crimes in 2007, which was a 2 percent increase from the 16,373 crimes reported in 2006.

Kim Murphree, of the Lawrence Police Department, said she could not say why the number of crimes reported in Lawrence had increased.

Murphree said the increase in crime could be linked to population, weather or laws among other possibilities. She said as far as she knew the police department had not done an analysis on the reports.

Murphree also said it was important to look at which types of crime had increased in Lawrence. For example, motor vehicle theft numbers have fluctuated with 248 reported in 2004, a decrease to 200 in 2005, an increase to 223 in 2006, and a decrease to 202 in 2007.

Reported crimes on campus may have decreased in 2007, but the number of crimes reported so far this month, 52, is almost equal to last year’s monthly average, 55 crimes, and April is only halfway over.

Capt. Schuyler Bailey, of the Public Safety Office, said he had not analyzed this year’s information. He said he could not attribute the high number to the Kansas basketball team’s victories because crime had always occurred on campus.

He also said he could not compare this April to last April because the office did not do a month by month analysis.

Two crimes were reported by the department of French and Italian in Wescoe in the last month. Both incidences were thefts and burglaries, one of which included criminal damage to property. Though the number itself is not high, Van Kelly, chairman of the department, said they were the first crimes that had been reported since he had been named chairman four years ago.

Kelly also said he could not comment on whether the crimes, which both occurred on evenings Kansas was playing in the NCAA tournament, were related to the team’s victories.

Bailey, who has worked at the Public Safety Department for 24 years, said he had visibly noticed the decrease in crime on campus. Bailey said the number of thefts from vehicles had decreased drastically. Thefts declined from 202 in 1997 to 38 in 2007.

Kelly, who has worked at the University since 1989, said he hadn’t noticed a decrease in crime, but he said the recent crimes had made him more observant of his surroundings.

Bailey attributed the decrease in reported crimes to new technology and the office’s increased efforts in educating students about safety issues.

He said in the past the office did not talk to students and parents at new student orientations. He said that the office had also expanded programs like “Safe Spring Break” to the greek community.

The University also installed a surveillance system in 2005 that monitors all of the parking lots and public areas around all the residence halls and two scholarship halls. Bailey said that criminals had been caught because of the cameras, but said he did not know how many.

Bailey said he has always felt safe on campus and he said students should feel safe as well. But he said safety should still be one of student’s priorities.

“That’s the way we want you to feel, but with that feeling still comes certain responsibilities and expectations,” Bailey said.

—Edited by Sasha Roe

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