September crime relatively similar to last year's

Crime this September saw a marginal increase from the past year of only 3.4 percent.

However, there was a larger increase in crimes against property — such as thefts and burglaries — due to a spike in burglaries and an increase in thefts from cars.

This September there was a sevenfold increase in burglaries, from only one in September 2013 to seven last month. The burglaries occurred mainly in the western part of the Penn Patrol Zone.

Last week, the Division of Public Safety issued a safety advisory that DPS was investigating several burglaries in houses from 38th to 40th streets between Baltimore Avenue and Pine Street.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said that DPS thinks that the burglaries are all related, but that Penn Police is not sure how many suspects have been perpetrating them.

There was an 85.7 percent increase in thefts from automobiles from last September to last month, which DPS is currently investigating.

Crimes against people — such as robberies and assaults — are also down this September, with 37.5 percent fewer than last year at this time. Robberies saw a moderate decrease from last September: only one was reported in September 2014, while three were reported in September 2013.

Bike thefts still continue to be a problem on campus: 25 were reported this September, an increase of 8.6 percent from the 23 reported last September. However, Rush said DPS has a very good lead on arresting a man who police believe is responsible for some of these thefts.

DPS recommends that bike owners register their bikes on the Campus Express website so that if their bike is stolen and then found by DPS, they can call them and the complainant can be arrested.

Overall crime since the start of the year is also slightly up by 7.4 percent, as compared to the year-to-date crime in 2013.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.