“Universities face crime every day, but where, exactly, does UA stand concerning crime rates? The Clery Report, which the federal government requires the university to submit, shows some improvement from previous years. UA has progressed since the last report in 2008 in certain areas concerning on-campus crimes.”
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Universities face crime every day, but where, exactly, does UA stand concerning crime rates? The Clery Report, which the federal government requires the university to submit, shows some improvement from previous years.
UA has progressed since the last report in 2008 in certain areas concerning on-campus crimes. Sexual offenses in 2009, for example, fell from nine to four; aggravated assaults were eradicated; and motor vehicle theft dropped from 10 occurrences to six.
Not all crime rates decreased. Robbery and arson remained static at relatively low numbers and burglaries rose from 12 to 19 instances.
The most common form of crime on campus is theft. Students are more frequently seeing new technologies such as GPS systems and expensive cell phones stolen from their cars.
Like in previous years, there were no reports of hate crimes, murder, rape or incest, which are all classified as major crimes.
Despite the improvement, UA was recently rated 11th in a survey of America’s Top 15 College Neighborhoods for Property Crime.
According to Location Inc., a Rhode Island company that specializes in relocation software, retail site selection and real estate investment advising, a neighborhood near campus averages 427 crimes per 1,000 residents.
The neighborhood is bordered by Wheeler Street to the north, Brown Street to the east, East Thornton Street to the south and Grant Street to the west.
The University of California at Santa Barbara is listed at number one with 1,019 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
Ohio State represents two neighborhoods on the list, taking spots five and six.
The crime statistics are compiled using 17,000 local law enforcement agencies in America. Eighteen computer models then statistically estimate the number of property crimes for every neighborhood.
UA has implemented programs to educate and assist students in staying safe on and off campus, according to Eric Green, a member of the UA’s Safety Task Force.
The newest program involves text messaging. Called TipSoft, it allows students to tip a UAPD dispatcher of a crime occurring either on or off campus via text message. It will encourage people to be our eyes and ears out there, Green said. He hopes TipSoft will be in use beginning this month.
The task force also conducts campus safety walks to locate dark areas, inactive street lights and lights that need fixed. The university has added more emergency phones with blue lights to campus each year. These phones provide students with instant contact to a police dispatcher.
Another program that UA offers to students is the student escort program. Anytime between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, students can call 330-972-7263 for a Campus Patrol member chaperone.
The escort program still has a lot of value, Green said. You’re not bothering anyone to have someone walk you to your car.
The task force stresses that students need to be prepared above all.
Nobody wants to think about being a victim, Green said. It’s educational and mental mindset, are you prepared in case something happens?
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