U. Police report westward shift in crime

The number of robberies reported to University Police has dropped over the last few weeks, and crime "seems to be moving westward," Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said yesterday. Rush explained that up until the end of last year, most crimes were reported between 39th and 40th streets. Since January, however, many of the crimes have been reported between 40th and 43rd streets. "The criminal element seems to be recognizing that there's too much heat in the area," she said. "We've begun displacing the criminals." Rush attributed the westward move to a number of factors. "We've increased the visibility of our officers, as well as our working relationship with the Philadelphia Police department," she said, citing the recent deployment of undercover and tactical Philadelphia Police officers. Even though those officers are only on campus temporarily, Rush explained that University Police will continue to deploy its own undercover officers "sporadically." But despite the apparent improvement in security, Rush cautioned that students should not be overconfident. She acknowledged that the security concerns of many students who live off campus are "valid." "We're aware of the problem, as are the Philadelphia Police department, and we're currently looking into various ways of improving the situation," she added. Rush explained that the department has set up a "focus group"of current and former law-enforcement officials to review its coverage of the campus area. The department divides the local region into sectors which have not been realigned in "quite some time," according to Rush. Any realignment will be based on statistical analysis of the different sectors. "Crime is always shifting, and we have to shift along with it," she said. "Some of these sectors need heavier coverage due to increased crime, while it might make sense to consolidate some of the quieter sectors." Rush stressed, however, that the realigned sectors will not experience reduced security. "The coverage will remain more than adequate," she said. "Now that we've gained back some of these areas, our goal is to hold onto them for as long as possible. We want to ensure that this success is not short-lived."