Robberies and bike thefts up from 2004

Penn Police have had to combat far more robberies and bike thefts recently than they did last year during the same period.

During September and October of last year, University Police had five reported robberies. This year, police reported 18 such crimes in those months.

Mike Morrin, Penn's deputy chief of investigations, said that some of this can be attributed to "pattern activity."

"In other words, a small number of offenders have been responsible for a disproportionate number of robberies," he said.

Efforts have been directed at interrupting the pattern.

Police also attribute some of the increase to an uptick in violent crime -- including robbery -- in the rest of Philadelphia.

City crime statistics could not be obtained at this time.

Two of the most recent and violent robberies occurred last week.

In one of the attacks, a 21-year-old female College senior sustained a deep laceration on her head when an assailant bludgeoned her with a handgun repeatedly.

Police have made two arrests in the aftermath of last week's crimes, however, and have issued a warrant for a third suspect.

Since the Friday morning attack, no robberies have been reported on or near campus.

This could be due in part to the arrests, but police also attribute the decrease to a substantial increase in security presence.

Bike theft has been the other major crime issue facing the police this year.

During September of 2004, only 11 bike thefts were reported to Penn Police.

This year, that number jumped to 39.

As of Sept. 15, officers were deployed to monitor bike racks that are vulnerable to theft.

Police also focused their high-tech surveillance cameras on bike racks to monitor suspicious activity.

A disproportionate number of the bike thefts, however, appear to have been committed by a few offenders.

"We saw a lot of pattern activity with the bike thefts as well," Morrin said.

Police arrested William Downey, 30, on Sept. 21, after a Penn employee allegedly witnessed him attempting to steal a bike.

Downey had been arrested on campus several months earlier near campus for the same offense.

Detectives are still investigating which thefts might be linked to him.

Several other bike thieves have been arrested since, and theft activity seems to have calmed in the last month.

In 2004, bike thefts increased from 11 in September to 18 in October.

This year, thefts dropped from 39 in September to 14 in October.

Morrin said that police will remain vigilant about bike theft, as the recent SEPTA strike may increase the number of people who ride a bike to campus.

Numbers for other crimes are relatively consistent with those from last year.

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