Matthew Burnard

Thefts from buildings more than doubled compared to April 2008, while incidents of violent crime were down since that time last year. Crimes against property showed little change overall. Building thefts increased sharply from 14 last year to 30 this year.

View April 23-29 in a larger map

As many students look forward to leaving Penn for a summer of relaxation, the Division of Public Safety is preparing for what is one of its busiest periods of the year. "It's a fallacy that as the vast majority of the student population leaves, out workload decreases," Captain Joseph Fischer said. "The challenges are in fact even greater over the summer.

Violent crime has dropped significantly since Drexel University unveiled its new police department, according to Drexel's Senior Associate Vice President for Public Safety Domenic Ceccanecchio. After being officially recognized as a law enforcement agency by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office in June 2008, the department has been operational since March 15.

By MATTHEW BURNARD Staff Writer burnard@dailypennsylvanian.com At a time when a cash-strapped media industry lacks the resources to monitor government spending, one recent Penn alum is using new media to fill this role. Stephen Morse, an '07 College alumnus and a former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, recently founded the Web site mytwocensus.

Robbery April 8 - A male student, 20, reported that two unknown suspects approached him on the 100 block of S. 40th Street at about 12:20 a.m., one of whom displayed a knife and forced him to withdraw cash from his bank account at a nearby ATM. Theft April 3 - Stanley Wisocki, 46, unaffiliated with the University and of the 1200 block of Race Street, was arrested at about 8:30 p.

Many students may not have had time to notice the appearance of ceramic squirrels along Locust Walk over the past few days since several of them have been disappearing. The project, called "Squirrels on Locust," is coordinated by the Penn Art Club and is the first large-scale student-initiated art installation on campus.

A 22-year-old man unaffiliated with the University was stabbed at around 2:15 a.m. Saturday on the 200 block of South 44th Street, according to Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore. Responding to a call, Penn Police found that the complainant had been stabbed in the abdomen by a taxi driver.

With the summer riding season coming up, Division of Public Safety officials are intent on stamping out bike crime on campus. As a city with a very high student population, Philadelphia has become notorious in recent years as a bike theft hotspot. Bike lock manufacturer Kryptonite publishes a "Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft List" on its blog every year, and Philadelphia is its reigning champion.

With the summer riding season coming up, Division of Public Safety officials are intent on stamping out bike crime on campus. As a city with a very high student population, Philadelphia has become notorious in recent years as a bike theft hotspot. Bike lock manufacturer Kryptonite publishes a "Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft List" on its blog every year, and Philadelphia is its reigning champion.