Crime stats show rise in theft, assaults

Reports of liquor offenses decreased to 223 from 344 incidents in 1995, drug cases dropped to 94 from 149, and the number of DUIs went down to 119 from 162, according to the statistics.

Lt. Brian Seastone, a UAPD spokesman, said most of the liquor cases involved minor in possession charges. He credited enforcement and educational programs around campus with helping to decrease liquor and drug incidents.

Reports of bike theft increased to 308 last year from 267 in 1995.

"The university is a giant supermarket," Seastone said. "If there is a certain type of bike you want, you can find it here."

Seastone said UAPD tries to combat bike thefts by finding the location and time periods of the thefts and concentrating security in those areas. He said educational programming is also performed to make the public more aware of campus crime.

UAPD statistics also show that bike thefts increase around Christmas and in the spring when there are more bike riders on campus, Seastone said. He said spring break is also a time when a lot of bikes are reported missing.

However, auto thefts were cut almost in half last year, down to 46 offenses from 79 in 1995.

"The number one problem is crimes against property," Seastone said. "With the exception of assault, crimes against people went down."

Fifty-six assault offenses occurred last year, eight more than in 1995, UAPD statistics showed.

Seastone said the number of assaults has constantly gone up, but that is hard to prevent because assaults often occur "in the heat of the moment." He said alcohol plays a big part in assaults.

The number of weapons offenses reported did not change - 10 offenses per year in 1995 and 1996, but 12 weapons arrests were recorded last year, eight more than in 1995, UAPD's statistics showed.

Theft offenses rose to 595 last year, 32 above 1995's total.

Seastone said money and backpacks are often left around, vulnerable to outside persons coming onto university property.

He said "snowbird transients" come in for the winter to live in the warmer weather. He said the statistics show a small increase in crimes from late November to the first week of February, the time period in which transients come to the university area.

"Overall, we're in pretty good shape," Seastone said of the statistics.

Students also said they feel generally feel safe on campus.

"I feel very safe, but I won't come to campus alone at night," said Michelle Jellema, philosophy senior. She said if she does come to campus at night, she walks with her dog or a friend.

Marnie Bay, molecular and cellular biology senior, also said she does not like to walk alone at night, but feels safe on campus during the day.

Krista Nunn, mechanical engineering sophomore, said, "There are not too many shady people, but on occasion there is someone weird."

Nunn said she carries Mace when walking around campus if she does not feel safe. She also said she tries to avoid certain areas of campus at night.

Kevin Righter, research associate at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said he does not like to walk on dark streets because he does not know who is around the corner, but said that he feels safe during the day.

He said last year he recognized a number of thefts at the Kuiper Space Sciences building.

Seastone said the statistics are compiled to give the community an idea of what crimes are happening on campus. He said UAPD uses the statistics to target individual areas it can work on.

"It's a barometer to show the current campus climate," Seastone said.