Audit of U. crime stats to begin

U.S. Department of Education will investigate the University's criteria for classifying on and off-campus crimes. The U.S. Department of Education will conduct interviews with campus security officials in the upcoming weeks as part of an ongoing audit to determine the effectiveness of the University's crime reporting. The purpose of the audit -- which began in December when the Department of Education and Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office requested paperwork from the public safety department -- is to determine whether the University's interpretation of the definition of on and off-campus crime complies with the standards used by every college and university in the nation. Currently, Penn uses a definition which includes only incidents that occur on or inside properties owned and controlled by the University. Under this interpretation, Locust Walk and the sections of 36th through 39th streets between Walnut and Spruce streets are considered on-campus. Off-campus locations include Spruce and Walnut streets themselves, public sidewalks and any properties the University owns but leases to another party. Public Safety Managing Director Tom Seamon said he believed the University is "doing everything we are required to do." While Seamon said he does not think the audit is necessary, he emphasized that the Department of Education has the option of investigating every school in the nation. Seamon added that he did not see the audit as an "adversarial" situation. "We're trying to be very open," he said. "We are looking for guidance, and if the Department makes recommendations, the University will probably adhere to them." And Seamon said that University security officials think they "are complying with [the Department of Education's] definition" of on and off-campus crime. "The University has the responsibility to report accurate crime figures and that's what we try to do," he said. Penn's annual crime report listed 18 on-campus robberies in 1995, 38 in 1994 and 45 in 1993. But internal University Police records show the department received 188 additional reports of robberies in 1995, 170 in 1994 and 176 in 1993 that did not fit the University's definition of on-campus crime. Such disparity led the Department of Education to begin the audit and examine whether the University is complying with the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990 -- legislation which requires schools to make annual reports of on-campus crime available to students and prospective students. Seamon also said federal crime-reporting regulations may be subject to change in the near future. "Many schools would like the regulations to be clarified a little more," he said. "All schools are different and [the legislation] does not account for varying environments." But the method the University uses in reporting crime also came into question earlier this year when a former student -- who claims she was raped in High Rise South in 1994 -- filed charges against the University. The University did not report any rapes for that year or pursue any action against the alleged rapist, the complaint charges. Currently, neither the Department of Education nor the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has scheduled a conclusion date for the audit, though it could be as soon as next month.