Between a surge in burglaries and a substantial decrease in robberies, crime near campus is up slightly this semester compared to last year.
Burglaries have increased 129 percent in the Penn Police patrol area from spring of 2005 to the spring of 2006, Division of Public Safety statistics show.
The number of aggravated assaults also rose from five to 16, and the number of bikes stolen jumped from three to 14 over the same time period.
Robberies and thefts, however, have decreased by 42 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Regarding the rise in burglaries, Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey said public-safety officials are confident that the rate of break-ins will soon return to normal levels thanks to the February arrest of a man who police believe is responsible for at least five of the 16 burglaries this semester.
Dorsey added that break-ins and other property crimes can be avoided if people are more careful with their possessions.
Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush said that while the overall increase in crime is troubling, the decrease in robberies shows the success of recent initiatives on Penn's part.
Penn Criminology professor Lawrence Sherman agreed that even after an increase in robberies in the fall, this decrease "seems to demonstrate the strong effect of [Penn's] safety measures."
Those security measures include increasing the number of police officers and adding funding for lighting and surveillance cameras, undertaken as a result of a $5 million pledge from President Amy Gutmann in January.
Thefts -- which had shown an increase earlier in the semester -- have returned to normal levels as a result of cooperation with local retailers, Dorsey said.
Still, thefts from local grocery store Fresh Grocer remain a problem, Rush said.
"It's a bigger issue. It's people going in taking baby formula, diapers," she said. "It speaks to a larger societal issue that people are desperate enough for their children. How are you going to stop someone who is driven by the care of their child?"
Public Safety also plans to combat an increase in bike thefts by allowing students to register their bicycles online through Campus Express in the fall, Capt. Joe Fischer said.
Despite the increase in crime, however, Rush said that she thinks the year ended as a success.
"We had a really challenging year, but I think through our efforts, through our partnerships with other law enforcement groups ... and with the financial backing of the $5 million investment into safety and security, we really met the challenge," she said.
Officials warn, however, that students must be wary with the school year winding down, as police believe two people involved in the recent abductions of four area students are still at large.
To improve safety after dark, Public Safety will offer a walk-back program again during finals, for which security guards will be available to walk students back from the library late at night.
Additionally, students who do not sublet their residences this summer can sign up to have police check on their apartments or houses.
