RI college crime reports released

KINGSTON, R.I. - Security and safety are two words that are top priorities at college campuses around the state. This year's campus crime reports were just released by Rhode Island Colleges, and the Target 12 Investigators sifted through the numbers.

At the University of Rhode Island, most reported crimes are down. Sex offenses dropped from 12 in 2006 to 4 in 2007. Burglaries are also down, and drug violations saw a significant decrease from 40 in 2006 to 14 in 2007. There was only 1 reported weapon violation.

The one crime that is up; citations for liquor law violations jumped from 48 to 72, the result of a crackdown on underage drinking.

URI Public Safety Director Dr. Robert Drapeau says, "So by addressing the alcohol, I believe we had a positive impact on the other numbers."

So we wanted to know why the numbers have changed. We asked if enrollment levels dropped.

 "Enrollment numbers have risen over the last three years," says Drapeau.

That may be so, but some students feel the new numbers may not tell the whole story. URI is considered by some to be a dry campus.

Natalie Rizzo, a senior at URI says, "I think probably a hike in alcohol related accidents because of that, because kids can't just walk home, they need to drive home."

All college campuses are required under federal law to release their crime statistics every year. So how do other colleges and universities stack up?

Brown University saw a drop in liquor violations from 80 in 2006 to 64 in 2007. Weapons violations dropped from 5 in 2006 to 1 in 2007 and burglaries fell from 58 to 54. There was an increase in reported sex offenses, from 3 in 2006 to 9 in 2007.

At CCRI there were no reports of robberies or assaults, and only 2 forcible sex offenses.

URI's public safety director sees the crime report as positive news for the students who study there, and for the parents who help pay for it all.

"I see we are going in the right direction," says Drapeau.

URI has a new campus alert system to immediately notify students of an emergency, as well as added lighting and an increased campus police presence.

Dr. Drapeau says, "I feel comfortable that the budgets that we're using are being used in an effective way and getting results."

The one thing that does concern campus security officials is a downturn in the economy may mean an uptick in the number of burglaries and thefts, so security officers are preparing for that.