Campus sees less crime this winter

The number of crimes reported between winter and spring breaks plummeted from 1998 to 1999. Crime on and around campus is continuing to plummet, with major crimes dropping 23 percent over the period between winter and spring breaks between this year and last, according to statistics released by the University Police. From 1998 to 1999, robberies dropped 33 percent, from 15 to 10; burglaries fell 21 percent, from 18 to 13, while auto thefts fell from 16 to 12, a 25 percent drop. And the amount of reported thefts during the approximately two-month period fell 22 percent, from 247 to 192. There were no reports of aggravated assaults in either year during the time. Crime has been steadily decreasing on campus for several years, since a fall 1996 crime wave that saw a rash of armed robberies, a shooting and the stabbing death of a University scientist. Since then, Public Safety officials have increased the number of police officers and detectives and moved the department into new, state-of-the-art headquarters last year. University Police Chief Maureen Rush attributed the drop in crime to the increased police presence in University City, citing the Philadelphia Police, University Police, Spectaguards and the unarmed University City District safety ambassadors, all of whom patrol the streets on and around campus. Rush also commended students and area residents for being more responsible. "People are using the streets but using them wisely," Rush said, adding, for example, that more students are using Penn Escort Services after dark. Because the number of serious crimes have dropped in recent months, University Police have had time to focus in on less-covered crimes, such as retail theft, Rush said. Smaller crimes like retail theft "should be taken seriously because [they] can be escalated to a crime of violence," she said. University Police are currently reforming the Division's three-year-old retail theft program which simplifies the procedure for reporting crimes for local stores. According to Rush, the updated program will include a revised list of area stores and training sessions for the stores to help them determine the best strategies to prevent retail theft. A breakdown of crimes that occurred on campus as opposed to around campus was unavailable because of recent changes in the definition of "on campus" as a result of new federal legislation. The main portion of Penn's patrol area extends west to 43rd Street, south to Woodland Avenue, east to 30th Street and north to Market Street, and also includes the Presbyterian Medical Center at 39th Street and Powelton Avenue, the University City Science Center buildings on Market Street from 34th to 38th streets and a property at 4101 Woodland Avenue owned by the Nursing Education Department.