UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 12, Page 6
November 21, 1991
Security; Information leads to a safer campus community
By Denise Arroyo
Do you know what systems are available to facilitate the
prompt reporting of crimes or other campus emergencies?
If outdoor campus lighting is monitored?
Under what circumstances trespassers on campus are subject to
arrest?
According to Douglas F. Tuttle, director of Public Safety, you
should. Tuttle said all University students and employees should
make themselves aware of crime in their community and what measures
the University takes to prevent crime on campus.
"An informed community is a safer community," Tuttle said.
It is important for members of the community to "become aware
of their surroundings so they have a sense of what belongs there
and what's out of place," he added.
The University has taken many steps to keep the community
informed of occurrences of crime.
One method utilized is adherence to the Federal Campus
Security Act, which requires reporting of accurate crime
information. In fact, Delaware has provided such information since
1976-long before it was required to do so.
"It wasn't that anybody required it. We just felt it was the
right thing to do," he said.
As government relations chairman and regional director of the
International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
(IACLEA), Tuttle testified before the U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education last March about this law.
He represented the IACLEA government relations committee's
view that schools should be obligated to provide accurate crime
information.
Beginning in August of this year, all colleges and
universities are legally bound to compile statistics on specific
crimes and to notify the campus community about crimes that may
place individuals in danger, including: murder, rape, robbery,
aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and on-campus
arrests for liquor law violations, drug violations and weapons
possession.
As of September 1992, campuses also will be required to
publish this information in an annual report to be made available
to applicants for admission and employment, as well as current
students and employees.
Each month since 1976, the Department of Public Safety has
sent a "Crime Update" to resident assistants to post in their
residence halls. The reports are broken down by individual
residence hall areas.
"If you live in the Gilbert complex, you can see what crimes
were reported last month in the Gilbert complex," he said.
"If you know there were bicycle thefts or burglaries in
residence hall rooms where you live, hopefully, that will inspire
a little more precaution than if you're just told that 15 bicycles
were stolen from campus," he added.
Tuttle said he thinks this method of informing residents of
crime is efficient. "It drives home our message about crime
prevention more effectively if students have information about
what's really happening-not only on campus as a whole, but where
they live," he said.
Statistics and explanations of the crimes are distributed to
parents of students at New Student Orientation as well.
Crime reports are published in The Review and Update.
In addition, Tuttle said, since 1988, the University has
voluntarily provided information on campus criminal activity to the
FBI.
Prior to 1988, University crimes were reported through the
city of Newark. The University police officers received their
arrest authority from the city and were technically special
officers of the city. This made it impossible to statistically
separate city and campus crime, he said.
Tuttle helped draft a state law that allowed the University
Department of Public Safety to derive its authority directly from
the University.
Tuttle said this lets the University be an "independent agency
in the eyes of the FBI, and our statistics are now published
separately."
Since the implementation of this state law, it has been
determined that about one-third of the incidents reported in Newark
occur on campus. However, the University's rate of violent crime is
lower than that of Newark, he said.
This reflects incidents occurring on-campus only. Crimes
reported by University students that have taken place off-campus,
such as on Madison Drive or in Park Place Apartments, are
considered in the city's report, Tuttle said.
Since a large portion of the student body resides in off-
campus apartments and houses, the city and the University work
closely to protect students from crime.
"We have very good cooperation with the city in terms of
information sharing," Tuttle said.
A University police captain, or someone representing him,
meets with staff officers of the city of Newark police every
weekday morning. They review crimes that were reported over the
previous night or previous weekend.
"We have good information exchange and it has helped us in a
number of cases," he said.
Tuttle said frequently the same types of crimes are committed
on and off-campus and "when you pool the information, it's easier
to pick up trends."
"A lot of campuses do not have that kind of communication with
their cities," he said.
As a result of these programs, Tuttle said, the University is
"relatively safe" but also emphasized that this "doesn't mean
crimes don't occur here."
He named "crimes of opportunity" as the biggest criminal
problem on campus, with the theft of bicycles, stereos and
textbooks being the most common.
Many of these crimes could be prevented by students and
employees if they are able to identify abnormal or suspicious
activity and then take the time to report it, he said.
Tuttle stressed the importance of reporting suspicious
activity.
"Typically, if we catch someone 'in the act,' it's because
someone called us," he said.
"We're much happier to respond to a possible problem and to
have it not be a problem than to not have had the call at all," he
added.
To report a crime or any suspicious activity, contact the
Department of Public Safety at 451-2222, or use one of the
emergency phones designated by a blue light located throughout
campus.