TL20040308_001 "The TauieNinhb Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com JI ^F Monday, 3/8/04 Vigil remembers former student Forum looks at women in business Morning urges fans to \uake up1 In 'Hidalgo,' race goes on too long Departments Opinion Campus t Nation Arts He Says She Says... Sports 20 In this corner. 20 Face-Off. 19 Athlete of the Week. Crime rates on campus falling Cailin McGough The Towerlight Despite a recent rash of thefts from vehicles in the Glen Garage, incidents of theft on campus have dropped by more than half since 1995, a report shows. Overall rates of property and violent crimes on campus are also the lowest since 1996. Total property crime fell steadily from 442 incidents in 1995 to 221 last year. Included in that figure are thefts, which dropped from 366 per year to 177. Uniform Crime Reporting, which tracks eight specific crimes in police departments nationwide, indicates a continual downward trend in crime from 1995 to 2003, explained Lt. Joe Herring. """"I don't want to jump up and down,"""" he said. """"There's a lot of things that go into making up crime trends and rates and we have some pretty dramatic numbers in decreases, but that's because we work with very small numbers."""" There were three robberies in 2002 compared to two in 2001-but one more incident translated to a 50 percent increase. While the total number of thefts have dropped over time, thefts continue to dwarf other property crimes on campus. Compared to 177 thefts in 2003, there were 42 burglaries, two motor vehicle thefts and one incident of arson. Recently six reported thefts from vehicles in the Glen Garage prompted the TU police department to issue a campus crime alert. Between Feb. 24 and Feb. 26, a parking pass, wallet and a book bag were among items reportedly taken from the vehicles, according to the TUPD's online crime log. Along with theft and robbery, the report tracks homicide, forcible rape, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson. Incidents of violent crime in 2003 totaled five, the fewest since 1995, when there were eight. However, these numbers do not reflect a trend over time; in 2002 there were 11 total incidents. No homicides were committed on campus in the last nine years. Since 1995, there have been fewer than three incidents of forcible rape per year and less than four robberies per year. Aggravated assaults ranged from nine in 1997 to four last year. The overall downward crime trend on campus follows that of Baltimore County and City. Serious crime in the county decreased by 7.8 percent in the first nine months of 2003, while arrests for serious crime increased 17.4 percent. """"What you would not want to see was crime going down in the Baltimore metropolitan area and crime going up on campus,"""" Herring said. In a statement, County Executive Jim Smith attributed the trend to communities and police working together to protect neighborhoods. Similarly, Herring credits community outreach programs that teach crime prevention tech- See TUPD, page 7 Student paintings swirl American culture in exhibit Lisa Johnson/The Towerhght Carolyn Roberts, a junior art education major, and Adrienne Vodraska, a junior art major, examine the work of MFA student Seth Goodman during the opening reception of his exhibition """"Episodic Walkthrough"""" Friday evening in University Union Art Gallery. See story page 13."
