The 2013 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report sent as an all-school email Tuesday morning showed a dramatically increased number of disciplinary referrals for liquor violations since 2009. The recent increase hit almost 50 percent.
In more positive news, robbery levels have remained about stable for the past few years and even decreased some in 2012.
Look forward to another email like this next year: like all colleges that receive federal funding, Penn is mandated by law to inform students and staff about crime on campus every year.
Related: Liquor control officers to patrol Made in America
—
Liquor Control Enforcement officers aren’t the only ones to look out for on Saturday nights. Disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations (that is, Penn investigating and possibly punishing independently of the police) went up — way up. In 2009, there were 166. By 2012, the number jumped up to 245, a nearly 50 percent increase. In better news, arrests for liquor law violations on campus haven’t shot up in the same way: in 2010 no one was arrested, in 2011, six were and in 2012 only two. This is before the LCE’s much-bemoaned Spring Fling 2013 crackdown.
—
If you read through the many pages of the report thoroughly, you’ll notice there are two different kinds of crime statistics. If you read it even more thoroughly, you’ll notice the numbers for the same crimes in these two tables are different. Why? One is the Clery Act report, required by federal law; the other is the Uniform Crime Report, which comes from Pennsylvania law.
The Clery report covers buildings on and adjacent to campus, the Uniform Crime Report covers the the Penn Patrol Zone — from 30th to 43rd streets and from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue — which has areas outside of the Clery boundaries.
Related: Undercover liquor control officers to be on duty during Fling
These reports aren’t completely set in stone. Sometimes cases get updated in later years — for example, the burglary numbers for 2011 were updated because one crime was reclassified as “on-campus.” There were seven updates to previous years in this report, compared to just two in the 2012 report and none in the reports for 2010 and 2011.
—
Robberies have remained relatively stable for the past three years. Despite last December’s high-profile string of UPennAlerts for armed robberies in the heart of campus in the middle of the day, the total number actually went slightly down to 30 in 2012 from 2011’s 38 and 2010’s 32.
—
Burglary is inching its way back up. After topping out at 42 in 2008, burglary became less common, dwindling to just 13 in 2010. But it’s back on the rise: it’s increased for two straight years.
Related: String of robberies hits University City Thursday night
—
Total crime reported under Clery has risen fairly steadily since 2009. Not to worry, though: much of the change is because of disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations. When you take those out, the number has increased by fewer than 20 since 2009.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.