As the fall semester begins, the Department of Public Safety is looking at the safety records on campus from last semester and over the summer in order to enhance its operations going into this school year. Director of Public Safety Jerry Matthews said that “crimes against people are the ones we’ll be worrying about—assault, robbery, weapon possession... even though they don’t occur to any degree on campus.”
Each year, in accordance with the Clery law, RPI publishes a summary of crime on campus. The most recent statistics available online show that the crime occurring on campus most often is larceny—with 185 incidents in 2001, 113 incidents in 2002, and 95 incidents in 2003. But what does not arise from those statistics is that most of Public Safety’s responses are to medical emergencies and accidents, which Matthews cited as far more prevalent than crime. Indeed, DPS receives more calls for medical assistance than anything else.
Though the crime statistics for 2005 and 2006 haven’t been established yet, the nature of crime at RPI is generally non-violent—with the most incidents being in the category of larceny, followed by liquor law violations and burglaries. Matthews brought up a few examples of recent cases on campus which spoke to the opportunistic nature of crime and criminals on and near campus.
In one instance in late August, a vagrant came by offering help to some female students moving in, planning to walk off with something. Upon being questioned by an officer, he was found to have been given a no-trespass warning and had previous arrests for burglary. He was placed under arrest. That crime and others like it, according to Matthews, typify the type of opportunity crime that occurs on campus.
Matthews also mentioned the problem of liquor law violations, which are ranked third among DPS campus responses. The problem is a “slippery slope,” as Matthews described it, because the cases of underage drinking are accompanied by other crimes, such as fake identification, which is a felony crime in New York State. Furthermore, officers usually catch underage drinking, not when it occurs, but after intoxicated students engage in behavior that causes an officer to respond.
Top priorities this semester will be the Rape Awareness Defense program for female students—several officers have been to training seminars recently—cooperation with Residence Life staff in keeping aware of any criminal trends or activity, and an extensive program of Community Policing.
Community Policing is a type of regulation which involves a more personalized and decentralized type of policing on campus. It brings officers more into contact with students and their surroundings, which in the past has cut down on crimes of opportunity significantly. In concert with such efforts, DPS provides several other services that many students are not aware of, such as defensive driving courses, Rape Awareness Defense programs, EMT training, and property registration. Thus far, Matthews described this semester as a “paradise.” He hasn’t yet been called to campus on any late-night or pressing emergencies, as he was several times last year. As the year progresses, he will be targeting the top sources of crime on campus by focusing staff and resources on late weekend nights, which is a common time for both minor alcohol-related offenses as well as violent crime.
