Students say campus crime reports may mislead
iiM
PORTLAND (API
— Crime statistics
compiled by Oregon
colleges and univer
sities may give stu
dents a false sense
of security. student groups say.
A brochure from Portland State Uni
versity. for example. says there were .19
burglaries and 41 oar thefts on campus
between 1989 and 1991.
But the brochure records only one
aggravated assault, one drug-related arrest
and one robbery during that three-year
period
And it reports Portland State did not
have a single rope, liquor law offense or
weapons violation on campus during that
three-year period
"Portland State appears to let this won
derful place where nothing happens."
said Holly Davoll, coordinator of the cam
pus escort service based at the Women's
1 In ion Resource Center.
Davoll has reason to suspect otherwise.
The women’s center in 1992 recorded 2fi
reports of public indecency or sexual
harassment and reports of one assault,
two robberies and two rapes on or near
campus Davoll said she worries every
night she walks in the dark from campus
to her apartment and breathes "a great
sigh of relief when I make it home.”
So far this year, several serious crimes
have been reported on or near the Port
land Slate campus. In fanuary, a man
with a gun forced a woman to turn her <-ar
over to him after she parked it near cam
pus.
Early in February, a woman was struck
twice in the face and once in the ( host by
a man who walked into a women's locker
room on campus. On Feb 20. a woman
fought off a man who attempted to rape
her in Lincoln Hall.
Lindsay Desrocher, the university's
vice president for finance and adminis
tration. said the brochure contains accu
rate statistics and reflects the presence of
foot and bicycle patrols on campus.
A new federal law requires colleges
and universities to publish an annual
summary of inaior crimes on campus. But
even security officials admit they have
trouble drawing meaningful conclusions
from the statistics.
They include only crimes that occur on
property owned or controlled by the col
leges and universities and that are han
dled by campus security
Crimes that affect students on their way
to and from campus are not reported,
though most of Portland State's 18.000
students are commuters.
‘ft doesn’t make students
aware they should be
taking precautions to be
safe.’
— Jane Lesser.
Oregon Student Lobby
legislative director
Crimes reported by the 1,500 students
living on the Portland State campus are
handled by the Portland Police Bureau
and appear on the university's annual
c rime report only if campus security
learns about them,
The campus crime reporting law "is
something new, and it is not perfect."
said Greg Parker, spokesman for the Ore
gon State System of Higher Education.
Students worry universities are using
the new crime reports to improve public
relations rather than help students take
wise precautions.
"It doesn't make studonls aware they
should be taking precautions to I* safe,"
said Jane Lesser, legislative director of the
Oregon Student Lobby, which represents
students at state colleges and universities
Many Oregon colleges' crime reports
suggest students have little to fear Some
of them reported zero incident* of violent
(rime and few incidents of any other seri
ous crimes in 1991
Lewis and Clark College in Portland,
for example, reported only one burglary.
Blue Mountain Community College
and Western Baptist College reported no
incident* of rape, robbery, aggravated
assault, burglary or car theft, and no
arrests for liquor, drug or weapons viola
tions.
In the same categories. Central Oregon
Community College reported only one car
theft, lane Community College reported
one rape and one liquor violation, and
Pacific University reported two burglaries
and one liquor violation. Statewide. 31
public and private institutions of higher
education collectively reported 16 rapes.
11 robberies and 69 assaults.
Western Oregon State College reported
five rapes, where all other colleges and
universities in the state reported two or
loss; 22 reported none. Western's high
number probably resulted from efforts to
encourage victims to report, said Lt.
Brock Wallace of campus public safety.
Oregon State University reported 190
liquor violations. 38 assaults and 31 bur
glories. The University reported only 14
liquor violations, but 50 burglaries.
Three rescue woman
before car catches fire
PORIT-AND (AP) — Passing motorists pulled a woman from
her overturned car just moments Indore the wrack hurst into
flames, but deputies say the woman has no memory of the
accident or the three people who saved her life
Deborah Cornelius-Poirier. 34. of Sandy was headed west
on l! S Highway 2fi about 1.15 a in. Sunday when she lost
control of her car. the Multnomah County sheriff s office said.
The car rolled along tho shoulder of the rood, then ran nose
first into a ditch, which flipped it upside down. The car slid
another 135 feet on its roof before it rams to rest against a hank
beside the road, wild Deputy Mark Mohsushima,
One of three people who stopper! to help was an emergency
room technician, who crawled into the wreck to check the dri
ver's condition. Mahsushima said.
A fire broke out in the engine comportment, and when the
passorsby could not smother the Rre with dirt, they pried open
tho car door and pulled Cornelius-Poirier to safety.
The woman was token to Mount Hood Medical Center,
whore she was found to be uninjured.
“We couldn't believe it." Mohsushima said. “All she had
was a couple of Band-Aid size cuts."
Cairnelius-Poirier said she had no memory of tho accident.
“She thought she was driving home." Mahsushima said.
A breath test showed Cornelius-Poirier had a blood alco
hol level of 0.22 percent, nearly three times the level at which
a person is considered legally intoxicated in Oregon.
The University of Oregon
Career Planning and Placement Service
presents
SUCCESS
SKILLS
Bill mav lower leaal alcohol level
SALEM (API - A hill to low
er the blood alcohol level at
which a driver is presumed to
l>e drunk would make criminals
out of social drinkers and do lit
tle to reduce traffic wrecks,
opponents said Monday
"The only effect of lowering
the blood alcohol content is to
pul more drivers in legal jeop
ardy," said Michael McCallum.
spokesman for the Oregon
Restaurant Association
But supporters of the hill said
that even mild levels of intoxi
cation can impair driving ability
and increase the chance of acci
dents.
"The new. lower level will ad
as a deterrent to unsafe deci
sions to drive after drinking for
many Oregonians." said lane
Aiken, a member of the Gover
nor's Advisory Committee on
DUU.
The testimony came as the
Oregon Senate Judiciary Com
mittee opened hearings on a bill
to set the legal standard at 0.04
percent, half the current stan
dard of 0.08 percent.
Officials say the 0.04 percent
level, which would be the low
est in the country, amounts to
two or three drinks in an hour
for most people.
Paul Komain. spokesman for
the Oregon Beer and Wine Dis
tributors Association, said such
an approach would give law
makers the illusion that they're
(.racking down on drunken dri
ving
In fact, Komain said, it
wouldn't have any impact on
hard-core offenders who drive
"like bullets" down the high
ways after drinking excessively.
"We're sitting here talking
about the social drinker and
nobody else,” he said. "We
would like to see you go after
the real problem.”
McCallum said Oregon and
other states already have passed
numerous laws cracking down
on drunken driving and most
people consider it socially unac
ceptable to drink and drive.
"The 0.04 plan is aimed more
at curbing social drinking than
at improving highway safety,"
We’re sitting here
talking about the
social drinker and
nobody else. We
would like to see
you go after the
real problem.’
— Paul Romain,
Oregon Beer and Wine
Distributors spokesman
he said. "It would make casual,
social drinkers fearful of being
hrunded as criminals."
But John Tongue, a Tualatin
physician who supports the bill,
said there's growing evidence
that even mild doses of alcohol
impair driving ability and that
lowering the blood alcohol limit
would save lives.
"A 10 percent reduction in
deaths and injuries overall I
think is a conservative esti
mate." Tongue said.
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