Total crime on and near campus for the summer months and the year-to-date is lower than last year.
Year-to-date crimes in the Penn patrol zone dropped from 616 reported incidents in 2007 to 579 in 2008, a 6-percent decrease.
The summer crime rate showed a greater drop with a 21-percent decrease in incidents from 2007 to 2008. Last year, there were 360 crimes reported during the months of May, June, July and August, while 286 occurred this summer.
The lower numbers come after crime rates rose by 14 percent for the spring semester, mainly due to high rates of unattended theft.
In a large drop, violent crimes, such as robberies and assaults, dropped 41 percent for the year. Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said tactics like monitoring deployment strategies and adding street-crime units in force between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. have cut crime.
The crimes that saw an increase over both the summer and the year-to-date were burglaries, bike theft and thefts from buildings.
DPS launched an initiative this spring to increase awareness of unattended theft. DPS also urges students to register property on Campus Express and use U-locks to secure bicycles.
Thefts from buildings rose 72 percent for the year. Burglaries increased by almost as much at 71 percent, and bike theft rose by 40 percent.
Rush said people should continue to take steps to prevent property theft.
"The community heeded a lot of safety trainings the department has provided," she said.
But more can be done to reduce crime.
"You can't just leave things and assume other people will watch them, because they won't," Rush said.
She also stressed the importance of education for new students on campus, saying that many are not used to the safety precautions necessary for living in a large city.
For DPS, education goes beyond stopping crime at Penn.
"We try to teach people skills they can use for life," Rush said.
A summary of crime statistics for the year to date:
One homicide was recorded in both 2007 and 2008.
Total robberies decreased from 50 last year to 27 this year.
Aggravated assaults decreased from 13 last year to eight this year.
Simple assaults dropped from 28 last year to 19 this year.
Burglaries increased from 31 last year to 53 this year.
No arsons were reported this year, down from one in 2007.
Bike theft rose from 50 last year to 70 this year.
Auto theft dropped from eight in 2007 to five in 2008.
Retail thefts decreased from 80 last year to 69 this year.
Theft from buildings rose to 177, up from 103 last year.
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