Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1982)
Crime rate slips down at University But thieves hit students at least once while here By Debbie Howlett Of the Emerald Crime at major colleges and universities around the nation is up almost 150 percent, says Sgt, Rick Allison of the Eugene Police Department But at this University. Allison says he is observing a decline Even though crime may be on a downward trend, Allison and Richard Tanner, head of the University's public safety office, agree and stress that burglaries, theft, assault and violent crimes still do happen "The average student," Alli son says, "if he is at the University four years, will be victimized at least once, usually twice " The way students can pro tect themselves is to be aware of the possibility of theft and their own responsibilities "Number one, students have to be aware and take re sponsibility for their own property," Tanner says Tanner explains that naivete and carelessness contribute to the incidence of crime on campus and in the campus area He points to an example of one student who left an ex pensive watch outside of the handball courts in Esslinger Hall while he was inside play ing "He was amazed someone stole it," Tanner says Allison stresses students play as big a role in crime prevention as the campus security and the Eugene police department "Students pay a tremen dous amount of money to go to school here and they have the right to get an education free from the criminal element — that's why we re here," Allison says "But it's a team effort unless we get cooperation, an intricate part is missing " The population base at the University is 20,000, which makes the campus and sur rounding areas a target for crime. Tanner adds The types of crime that oc cur on campus range from minor thefts to violent crimes such as assault and rape Alli son says violent crimes are declining, but there has been a 57 percent increase in bicycle theft. Of all crimes at the University, burglary is growing the fastest, he adds Allison says only one attempted rape on campus was reported last year and that no "finalized" rapes were reported The year before, nine rapes or attempted rapes were reported on campus Allison adds he has spoken with convicted rajpists who have told him they come to the campus "looking,” primarily because of the number of women on campus Allison says a women should look at herself and be aware of "her own visible signals " The manner in which a woman carries herself may make her more susceptible to attack "If a woman displays con fidence and self assurance, it increases the odds of not be Emerald Photo With bike thefts increasing over 57 percent in the last year, students need to be on guard against would-be theives, according to Sgt. Rick Allison of the Eugene Police Department. ing raped," he says Decreasing susceptibility to attack is one thing Allison stresses In the instance of rape, he says there are several ways to better the odds. Travel routes and time of day should be a concern For example, if a woman has a night class, he suggests staying away from dark, brushy areas since lights and people will discourage attackers, Allison says Other protective measures are sprays (some useful, some not, according to Allison), es cort services provided by dif ferent campus groups, emer gency call boxes located around campus and noise. According to Allison, the best thing to do in case of attack is to yell fire and keep yelling A call of “rape” fright ens people rather than gaining their assistance, he notes With the increase in burglary and theft comes a clear message from Allison and Tanner — students need to take responsibility to decrease the chance they will get vic timized “There is a terrible amount of theft in the library and dorm rooms — and it's not forced entry,” Tanner says Tanner notes a lot of students are away from parents and home for the first time. He adds those students are not used to worrying about their security. “The transition of home and parents to self-responsibility has to be impressed on their minds," Tanner says. One effort being made to alleviate those problems is “Project Be Safe “ Allison says elected students from re sidence halls and vice pre sidents in the Greek organiza tions are being trained to “allow them to be aware and Continued on Page 9 You'll hear... If you didn't get your jeans from the Buffalo, you got skunked. Why??? * ^ » T5 We’ve get the brands, styles & selections at incredible low prices starting at justC^ ^ ^ f'hey may be factory seconds, but no one will ever know. 1 V EUGENE 77 West 11th 342-8495 ALBANY 122 East 1st 926-7355 MEDFORD 36 S Central 772-6200 SALEM Salem Plaza 371-9500 CORVALLIS 312 S.W. 3rd 758-1170
