Friday, April 13, 2012

The Common Campus Crimes


College campuses are unlike any other place. It is a place dominated by traditional students, young adults living away from home for the first time in their lives. With it, comes the freedom to sleep all day, drink all night, not go to class, and so much more. We can escape the restraints of our parents, however, crime is something that is all around us. Whether we partake in it ourselves or we fall victim to it, college campuses are no strangers to criminal activity. The following blog post is a description of the most common crimes that happen every day across campuses across the nation. When we hear ‘college crimes,’ many of us think of incidents relating to alcohol. Although present on the list, I was surprised to find out that there is so much more. Something to note is that while doing research, I discovered that many articles list different crimes.

In no particular order:
1)      Public Urination
2)      Public intoxication
3)      Disorderly conduct
4)      DWI/DUI
5)      Minor in Possession
6)      Possession of Marijuana
7)      Hazing
8)      Noise ordinance violation
9)      Jay Walking
10)   Rape
11)   Theft/Burglary
12)   Assault

The following clips are from the G4 TV show Campus PD. They cover some of the violations previously listed.

Public Urination:


Possession of Marijuana:


Noise Violation & Minor in Possession:



For those of you who don’t know about this show, I highly recommend it. It is very entertaining.

Having spent four years at Illinois State University, I can honestly say that I have never been in a situation where I felt that my safety has been threatened. Whether it be my intuition or the work of the various police departments present on campus, I always feel safe. Like any other campus, however, crime consistently happens as seen in the crime section of the Daily Vidette.

I have never been on the ISU PD website until writing this post, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they are constituted by a large mandate. Some of the services they provide include: enforcement of all State and Federal Laws, assist in enforcement of all University Policies and Regulations, traffic and crowd control at special events, random patrol of campus by both foot patrol and vehicular patrol, bike patrol, enforcement of traffic and parking regulations, provide emergency 9-1-1 telephone system, conducts campus lighting surveys, conduct safety/security surveys on request, and so much more.

Starting on page 27, there is an annual report starting from years 2008 – 2010 showing the annual crime statistics at Illinois State University. In 2010, there were: 35 burglaries, 24 assaults, 24 sex offenses, 2034 liquor law violations, and 781 drug violations. Minus the alcohol and drug offenses, I was surprised at the results. To be honest, I expected the numbers to be much higher.

Now knowing the crime statistics, are you all surprised? Do you feel that the ISU PD, Normal PD, Bloomington PD, and the State PD do a great job of protecting and serving us?

References:
http://police.illinoisstate.edu/
http://police.illinoisstate.edu/reports/documents/ASR92711.pdf
http://kerrie-troseth.suite101.com/top-crime-incidences-at-college-a149269
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/08/campus_crime.html
http://www.forensiccolleges.net/blog/2010/10-common-crimes-committed-in-college/

8 comments:

  1. I'm not really all that surprised at those statistics. I was actually surprised that there were so many drug & liquor violations. I know this is a college campus but 2034 in one year in such a small section of the town is a lot!!

    I cannot comment on the performance of the ISU police because I've never interacted with them but overall I think that ISU is in a pretty safe community to begin with. We certainly have a better location that Weslyan. I'm from Peoria & ISU is happy land compared to Bradley!

    This is kind of off topic but does ISUPD only have jurisdiction on ISU owned property? I ask because uptown Normal used to be kind of shady. In the 90's I used to come here & DJ at a bar that I think is a bookstore now. It's weird seeing how gentrified the area has become. I remember there was always a strong police presence. I wonder if those were ISUPD or regular Normal PD

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  2. This doesn’t really surprise me that crimes such as these happen on campus. I have never personally been a part of any of them but from the stories I hear in classes it just doesn’t surprise me! I also don’t really have fears about being on campus but that could be because I do not live on campus and am usually only there during the day. Even after the event of the armed robbery under the main street bridge and my dad urging me to walk a different way, I still did not feel threaten walking through the area. I think it is interesting about the number of crimes that have been committed. It doesn’t surprise me that a majority of them are drug and alcohol related because that is so much of most people’s college lifestyle. Since I’ve never witnessed these crimes (and am very thankful for that) it is hard for me to see those numbers being that high.

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  3. I'm not really surprised by the crimes that occur on campus either - I have known people who have dealt with the ISUPD, mainly because they got drinking tickets in the dorms. Personally, I have never had a negative experience with them; but my interactions have all been on a professional level. I have gone on ride-alongs with the ISUPD (as well as Normal and Bloomington) and I have also worked with them during events as a student manager at the Bone Student Center. Overall, I am continually impressed by the ISUPD. In terms of their jurisdiction, they are certified police officers in the state of Illinois, meaning that they technically have jurisdiction throughout the entire state. I'm not shocked by the fact that the majority of the interactions that they have are drug and alcohol related - most college students spend a good portion of their weekends participating in activities such as these.

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  4. Reading the statistics I thought they would be much higher. But then again, not everyone who gets assaulted reports it. When I think of college campus arrests, what comes to my mind mostly is anything with drinking and drugs, assaults and property damage. I am curious to see more recent statistics and see the differences in crime and notice if crime has either increased or decreased.

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  5. That is pretty shocking. specially considering how our bar scene is so centralized compared to other places. This is my first year down at ISU and i have had a great experience and also have never felt as if i was in danger. i have only had talks with the cops a couple of times which was just them telling me to turn my music down. i think they are doing a fine job specially when the only complaints i hear about is how tough they are on speeding.which they are just doing their job. and if thats the complaint they have so be it overall i would have to say this feels as if it is one of the safest areas i have lived in.

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  6. Those statistics are alarming. You have great points with the alcohol, away from home, new exciting setting. Without the parents remotely close, kids think they can do anything. I myself have been a victim of assault and theft at Illinois State. But i still feel safe wherever i go, whenever. And yes, Campus PD = great show.

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  7. Haha awesome article. I love watching campus pd! They would get some much better footage if they came to ISU guaranteed. But i figured that most "crimes" related with alcohol but i knew theft and burglary would definitely be on it. My first year at ILSTU i got my bike lock cut and got my bike stolen, had a party and someone made there way into my room stealing several items and also had my golf clubs stolen all in one year! When i was at NIU i left my dorm room to go across the hall to my friends room for literally 2 minutes when i came back my laptop was gone along with an IPOD. I believe theft is the most rampant crime on any campus.

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  8. I am also not surprised at those statistics. I think they are pretty accurate with what i could have guessed. You bring up an interesting point about policing it though. I think that currently, students are targeted. And based on research from previous classes, we know that people age out of crime typically. I get that. I understand focusing on the students. However, they should change and adapt their policing styles to do the same. You cannot police students the same as white collar citizens.

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