A greater emphasis on campus security within the past several years, including more street lights and emergency phones, appears to be netting results, based on the most recent statistics released by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Violent crime decreased by 50 percent, from 54 incidents reported in 1990 and 54 again in 1991 to 26 in 1992. The total number of property crimes also dropped, from 2,776 in 1990 to 2,350 in 1991 and 2,101 in 1992.
“The department took a new direction in 1990,” says DPS Director Leo J. Heatley. In addition to installing emergency phones and additional security lighting, Night Owl bus service was expanded and the University started deputizing its own police officers.
Not surprisingly, arrests are up. DPS made 166 arrests in 1992 for alcoholic liquor (93), possession of weapons (11) and drugs (62), compared with a total of 57 for those three categories in 1991.
Members of the campus community seem to be more aware of crime and are working in cooperation with DPS to make the U-M a safer campus, Heatley adds. “The community is our eyes and ears. They see more things going on than we do. If they report things, we can assist in removing the problem.”
The statistics are compiled as part of the Michigan State Police Uniform Crime Report. The U-M furnishes its criminal statistics every 24 hours to the state police. The state is required to report the statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A summary of campus crime statistics will be published in the Campus Safety Handbook, scheduled to be released mid-October. Copies will be mailed to all students and will be available for faculty and staff in addition to being on file at University libraries.
