Crime over break reaches six-year low, despite extra days of vacation

As they return to Philadelphia this week, Penn students and faculty have a lot more to celebrate than just a new year. Campus-wide crime over winter break decreased substantially this year compared to the same period in 1999, falling 21 percent to a total of just 58 crimes reported between December 20 and January 13, according to University Police. This figure represents a six-year low for the neighborhood within the jurisdiction of University Police, which spans the area between Market Street and Baltimore Avenue and between the Schuylkill River and 43rd Street. Last year, 73 crimes were reported over a comparable period and in 1998, University Police responded to 62 calls. The highest report rate over the last six years came in 1995, when the campus was struck with 95 reported incidents, according to police. The drop in crime occurred even with the extended winter break, which added approximately four days to the comparison period for potential crime to occur. According to University Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Tom King, the dramatic fall in crime may be attributed to an enhanced presence of the police on campus. "[University Police] Chief [Maureen] Rush was really adamant about proactive checks and increased visibility by patrolmen and Spectaguards on campus," King said. Forty-six of the 58 incidents were thefts, while six were burglaries and four were robberies. Only two other crimes -- one arrest for gun possession and one simple assault -- were logged during the time period. In the lone report of assault, a male University student reported being struck in the head and slightly wounded by another male student at his home on 42nd Street during an argument on December 24 regarding the volume of a stereo. No arrest was made at the scene, and no charges were filed. Of the reported robberies, only one involved a gun. A juvenile male with no affiliation to the University reported being assaulted and robbed on January 2 by a black male in his 20s with a heavy build at the intersection of 42nd and Spruce streets. The alleged assailant displayed the handle of a gun to the victim, who then handed over approximately $20 in cash. The assailant fled in a black four-by-four vehicle with Pennsylvania license plates. University Police apprehended a suspect in relation to a robbery which occurred on the 400 block of South 43rd Street on New Year's Day. According to reports filed by the victim -- a male former University student -- the assailant grabbed him and attempted to wrestle him to the ground. After spraying the assailant in the face with pepper spray, the suspect fled along with another individual. In response to the victim's description of the assailant, University Police conducted random checks of potential suspects and arrested Cieve Cove, an 18-year-old man unaffiliated with the University. Police later determined that Cove had been in possession of and had disposed of 60 packets containing a white substance which officials later classified as a narcotic. Police are also investigating an attempted robbery of a female University student, who was attacked by a 5' 9", 160-pound black man at the intersection of 40th and Woodland streets on December 21. The victim was approached with a knife, and after a brief struggle, the assailant fled. The student was unharmed. And University Police responded to a break-in at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house at 3539 Locust Walk which occurred sometime between December 23 and December 27. Seven rooms were entered, though police are still unsure of the mode of entry and the extent of the missing items, since most of the residents were already away for winter break.

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