The crimes have been counted and the verdict is in: Penn and its surroundings are getting safer.
Both violent crime and overall crime decreased in the Penn Patrol Zone in 2008, according to the Division of Public Safety.
Particularly striking is the drop in violent crime, which is down 38 percent since 2007.
Highlights in this category include a 42-percent decrease in robberies, a 35-percent decrease in assaults and a 47-percent decrease in forcible sex offenses.
Chief of Penn Police Mark Dorsey attributed these successes to the high quality and dedicated police work carried out last year by DPS.
He also cited effective cooperation with Philadelphia Police as a key factor.
Dorsey added that these statistics should send out a strong message to any criminals who may view the Penn community as an easy target.
DPS' end-of-year-report also showed that total crime in 2008 decreased by eight percent from the previous year.
Although burglaries were up slightly in 2008 compared to 2007, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush attributed this to the ongoing problems of unattended property and poorly secured buildings.
Fraternity and sorority houses need to remain particularly vigilant against this, she said, citing a string of burglaries that occurred in fraternity houses this fall.
The substantial decrease in crime in 2008 did not come as a surprise to many students.
"I can't say last year felt that different to the one before," said Engineering junior Jin Chung. "I always feel safe here as long as I stay smart."
Wharton junior Esther Wang said the high visibility of Penn Police contributes to her feeling safe at Penn.
"Just having such a large uniform presence around campus makes me feel safe," she said. "And these statistics show they do a great job."
A summary of the crime statistics for 2008:
Homicides decreased from three in 2007 to two in 2008.
Total robberies dropped from 73 in 2007 to 44 in 2008.
Forcible sex offenses fell from 17 in 2007 to nine in 2008.
Aggravated assaults decreased from 20 in 2007 to ten in 2008.
Simple assaults decreased from 32 in 2007 to 24 in 2008.
Purse snatches dropped from five in 2007 to four in 2008.
Burglary increased from 65 in 2007 to 81 in 2008.
Auto theft fell from nine in 2007 to seven in 2008.
Thefts from cars dropped from 136 in 2007 to 128 in 2008.
Bike thefts rose from 104 in 2007 to 117 in 2008.
Thefts from buildings rose from 222 in 2007 to 236 in 2008.
Other types of theft dropped from 193 in 2007 to 142 in 2008.
Total thefts dropped from 540 in 2007 to 499 in 2008.
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