The University’s Department of Public Safety 2008 Campus Security Report released last week revealed dramatic drops in crime across many offense categories. Statistics from the report, which includes reported crimes that occur on campus, show crimes such as burglaries and bike thefts have plunged since 2005.
However, the report fails to reflect the prevalence of property crimes in the University and Eugene community.
According to Terry Smith, Eugene Police Department’s Service Improvement Analyst, failure to report crimes is likely the explanation for drops in the statistics. Smith explained that a huge discrepancy exists between reported crime and actual crime, with less than one-half of all crimes being reported.
About 10 years of data would be needed to identify trends in the crime rate, Smith said, so conclusions cannot be drawn from data representing three years of crime. Smith also said large drops in reported crime from year to year are not uncommon. Although the numbers may be low in the report, Smith said, actual crime rates could be the same, or could even have increased.
Crime rates did increase across the city of Eugene in 2005, Smith said, which in part was attributed to high methamphetamine use. Since then methamphetamine use has slightly diminished, he said, and crime levels in 2006 and 2007 were similar to those in 2003 and 2004.
Smith said one example of a reported crime statistic generally representative of actual crime rates is automobile theft. Because more than 90 percent of automobile thefts are reported, those crime statistics are generally reliable. This should be the case in this DPS report, he said.
ASUO Legal Services director Ilona Koleszar also noted failure to report crime as a problem when interpreting crime statistics.
Koleszar said an important thing to consider when looking at crime statistics is that crimes such as criminal mischief and theft, alcohol or drug related violations are often cited together.
“These might not be individual offenses,” she said. “They could be multiple citations being issued to one individual.”
Koleszar said she hopes part of the reduction in the crime statistics is a result of DPS using better discretion before issuing citations. “There has been some appropriate turnover in DPS,” she said. “Now, there is better enforcement, better training, better oversight, better everything.”
Since DPS Chief Kevin Williams and Assistant Chief Douglas Tripp arrived at the University, six new officers have been hired, raising the total number of working DPS officers to 18. Tripp, who is completing his first year at DPS, said the department is working closely with EPD and organizations on campus such as the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Student Life to create a safe, educational campus environment.
“We align our enforcement efforts with the University’s educational mission,” Tripp said.
DPS officers do enforce state and federal laws, Tripp explained. However, because DPS is a campus security unit, individuals who are faced with their first Minor in Possession offense are usually cited as breaking the Student Conduct Code rather than being cited and charged through municipal court.
DPS is actively informing students of increases in crime or areas where crime is prevalent, such as the West University area, Tripp said. One of DPS’ goals is to promote safety tips and crime prevention steps to students, Tripp said.
The majority of crimes occurring on campus are nonviolent. “The University campus is very safe,” he said. “There is not a lot of crime against people. Property crime, however, is a problem.”
After the 281 bike thefts in 2005, the department has also increased its patrol efforts near bike racks and Tripp said he believes the presence of officers alone helped deter bike thieves.
Smith also explained that crimes against people are rare in Eugene as a whole.
But there are some exceptions. A woman is slightly more likely to be raped in Eugene than in other cities across the nation, although homicides and other violent crimes are rather uncommon, Smith said. Alcohol plays a major part in sexual assault cases, and EPD is cracking down on alcohol-related offenses, in part to reduce the number of sexual assaults, he said.
“In Eugene, you have an unlikely risk of getting murdered,” he said. “But, in general, other than homicide, Eugene has crime rates worse than most cities its size or any size in America.”
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