Campus violent crimes drop

Kayla Webley
2004-10-26
The Daily

Violent crimes on the UW campus have decreased 6.5 percent from 2002 to 2003, according to statistics released by the UW Police Department (UWPD).

"It's a good thing; we are really happy with it," said Annette Spicuzza, assistant chief of the UWPD. "It's always our goal to make it safer here for students, staff, workers and ourselves."

In 2003 there were 219 fewer reported thefts on campus than in 2002. Of the reported thefts this year, 52 are from on-campus student housing, down from 118 in 2002. The drop in thefts, according to Spicuzza, is due to students being more careful about locking their rooms.

"People are more aware of their surroundings," said Spicuzza. "They are paying attention and not leaving things unlocked. They treat their dorm room like an apartment, not a bedroom."

"I think it is good education and being diligent. People are being smart with their property and their persons," she said.

Though larcenies have declined, vehicle thefts have increased from 35 in 2002 to 54 in 2003.

"Vehicle theft is a crime of opportunity, especially when people don't lock their doors or leave things on their seats," said Spicuzza. "It is a crime we are continually working on and hopefully stopping."

On-campus burglaries have declined from 134 in 2002 to 74 in 2003. The decrease includes a drop of 41 burglaries in the residence halls.

"The occupants in the buildings are very aware of their surroundings," said Spicuzza. "There's been a real effort on our part and on the students part to teach and remind ... it's being aware and being smart about what we're all doing."

However, rape on campus has increased to two reported rapes, as compared to 2002 when there were none reported. According to Spicuzza, the UWPD is very open to assisting individuals who do come forward to report this commonly unreported crime.

"You just hope that it won't occur, but if it does, that it gets reported," said Spicuzza. "A lot of young people just don't want anyone to know, but we are here to help. We would hope people would let us know so we can assist them."

In 2003 there were 94 reported bicycle thefts, a decrease of 77 reported thefts since 2002.

"We've been pushing for bike registration, and students have been taking advantage of that. We have a good partnership of people paying attention, buying good locks and not leaving their bikes unattended over a long period of time," said Spicuzza.

Spicuzza advised that, although crime has dropped on campus, there is still a need for people to be cautious.

"When someone looks at the statistics it looks as though it is a safer place, but crime is still occurring. We don't want to think we are crime-free, because we're not," she said. "Any year that we can bring crime down, that's a good thing, but we don't want people to stop paying attention."