Most crimes decrease from fall 1996

While robberies, burglaries and thefts dropped from last fall, aggravated assaults increased during the same time span. Despite the recent shooting that sent a College senior to the hospital, the number of serious crimes on and around campus is significantly lower this fall than it was during the same time last year. University Police responded to fewer robberies, burglaries and thefts this fall, although the number of assaults increased. The data -- provided by University Police -- include crimes and attempted crimes reported in 1996 and 1997 between September 1 and November 15, in the area bounded by Market Street, Baltimore Avenue, the Schuylkill River and 43rd Street. On- and off-campus robberies within the department's jurisdiction fell 26 percent, from 53 to 39. While 34 of the robberies in 1996 involved a gun, only 22 of this year's robbers were armed -- a drop of 35 percent. Total on-campus robberies dropped from seven last fall to six this year, while on-campus robberies at gunpoint fell 50 percent, from six to three. Additionally, burglaries fell 9 percent, from 45 to 41, while thefts dropped 2 percent, from 461 to 454. And on-campus burglaries decreased 33 percent, from 33 to 22 incidents. Thefts on campus fell 5 percent, from 308 to 294. University Police officials touted sweeping changes to the force since last fall's crime wave -- which culminated in the shooting of then-College senior Patrick Leroy near 40th and Locust streets -- as the impetus behind the crime decrease. The Division of Public Safety added 19 new officers to the force, doubled the size of its bike patrol unit from eight to 16 officers, doubled the number of detectives in its investigative unit from four to eight and developed a Special Response Team to combat crime at night. And since the beginning of this semester alone, the department has spent almost $130,000 on overtime pay for the five additional officers who patrol each night. Public Safety's annual budget is about $18 million. Det. Commander Tom King, who joined the force last August, said he was impressed with these "textbook"-like changes. And Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush noted that the lower crime rate is important because it has led to an "increase in the feeling of safety" among students. Despite the decrease in most types of crimes, assaults rose 10 percent. Aggravated assault cases -- the most serious type of assault -- more than doubled, rising from seven last fall to 16 this year. And the number of these incidents on campus rose from two to five. Police officials blamed the jump on violence caused by student binge drinking, defined as consuming five consecutive drinks for men and four in a row for women. Just one aggravated assault in 1996 -- equal to 14 percent of the total -- was alcohol-related, compared with a total of four, or 25 percent, of the 1997 aggravated assaults. "The statistical increase is from within our own community," Rush said. "From the University president's level on down, we are vividly aware of the fact that we have a binge drinking problem on campus." Alcohol does not, however, explain the total increase. Even when alcohol-related incidents are excluded, the number of aggravated assaults doubled to 12. At the same time, police responded to 26 percent fewer simple assault cases in the area as a whole and 43 percent fewer of these incidents on campus. And four of this year's 17 simple assaults, or 24 percent, were alcohol-related. Only one of the 23 simple assaults in 1996 involved drinking. Non-alcohol-related assaults fell 10 percent.

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