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Burglaries up 32% on campus
No significant increase in other campus crimes
By Isral DeBruin
“I would adamantly, I would vehemently–what other words could I come up with–say that the campus is not dangerous.” –UWM Police Sgt. Arthur Koch
Burglaries increased over 32% on the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s campus last year, but most other crimes showed a smaller or no increase according to the UWM Annual Security Report released last week.
Campus burglary offenses went up from 28 to 37 between 2005 and 2006. During the same time, forcible sex offenses rose from two to four and aggravated assaults increased from zero to two.
Arson and motor vehicle theft both lessened in 2006. Intentionally started fires dropped from four to one and no cars were stolen, as opposed to two the previous year. Liquor law violations, drug law violations and weapon possessions were also all down on campus in 2006.
The report, which shows statistics for 2004, 2005 and 2006, shows no cases of criminal homicides, negligent manslaughter, non-forcible sex offenses or any form of hate crime over the past three years.
Arthur Koch, a detective sergeant at the UWM Police Department said despite increases in some areas, campus is still a completely safe place.
“I’ve been here 29 years as a cop and another four years as a student, and I’d never, ever consider the campus a dangerous place,” Koch said. “I would adamantly, I would vehemently–what other words could I come up with–say that the campus is not dangerous.”
When asked about student perception of crime on campus, Koch said e-mail warnings about area crimes sent to students from the university could contribute to a general feeling of unease. Koch said, however, that crime statistics such as those shown in the Security Report don’t support such perceptions.
Off-campus crime Most citywide crime numbers were not available to the university when the Security Report was published, but those numbers given showed an increase in criminal homicide and forcible sex offenses in the City of Milwaukee. Koch said he thinks crime in the greater campus area has increased over the past year, but campus itself is still safe. According to Koch, UWM police officers have been increasing their trips through residential areas around campus to display the presence of the university police force, a practice he referred to as “showing the flag.”
“Campus itself is pretty heavily patrolled,” Koch said. “Now we’re trying to get more in the neighborhoods because there are more crimes happening out there.”
Despite showing presence in campus-area neighborhoods, the UWM police do not respond to calls made off campus. Because of jurisdictional limitations as well as the size of its staff, the UWM police department only responds to crimes that occur on campus. Koch said there have been a few exceptions in the past, but generally District 5 of the City of Milwaukee Police Department is responsible for answering all non-campus police calls.
Advice for students Aside from emphasizing the importance of remaining vigilant and paying attention while walking at night, Koch said students should use all of the programs that exist for their protection. Besides Be On the Safe Side (BOSS), which gives free rides to students and can be reached at 229-6503, Koch said all students should sign up for Safety Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) Alert Emergency Notification System.
The system allows university officials to send text messages to students’ cell phones in case of an emergency. The Web-based signup for the SAFE alerts only takes a few moments to complete and can be found at https://www4.uwm.edu/safety/safe_alert/index.cfm.
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