WILLIAMSBURG -- Four William and Mary students and a friend were robbed off campus Monday night.

According to the College, they were walking on Mt. Vernon Avenue when two men with weapons - possibly a gun and a knife - demanded personal items.

The UH Department of Public Safety is focused on a reoccurring issue in campus, burglaries and theft.

On-campus car thefts and burglaries were at their highest in 2006 and 2007, according to the official 2008 police report filed by the campus police station. During 2006, there were 35 car thefts reported, and in 2007, 63 burglaries were documented. Reports are not up to date, but students do get e-mail and text message alerts.

Summer vacation ends next week for many college students, and for thieves, the return to school can be lucrative.

According to officials and crime statistics, thefts are traditionally high in the first month of school at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

"We have a lot of students coming to campus often with new electronics and bicycles and recently purchased textbooks," Lt. Bruce Chan, OU Police public information officer said. "These are top-dollar items for thieves who will turn around and sell the item online or in local stores and pawn shops."

The K-State Police serve the community daily, enforcing the laws and policies on campus. The most recent campus crime trends indicate that offenses such as robbery and on-campus theft have decreased.

Ronnie Grice, assistant vice president of public safety and chief of police, said the most common violations the campus police deal with are traffic violations and then theft of personal property.

Grice said he encourages students to familiarize themselves with their surroundings should they need to deal with some kind of emergency.

He especially encouraged locating the emergency phones placed around campus and using the different public safety programs like SafeRide and the Silent Witness program available at www.ksu.edu/police/silent.>

Use Wildcat Walk Escort Service

Of these programs, Grice said the Wildcat Walk Escort Service is one he highly encourages students to use to stay safe at night.

“It’s always good to travel in groups or with another person,” said Capt. Don Stubbings of the campus police. “If there is not another person to walk with, use our Wildcat Walk service.”

The service operates 24 hours a day, every day. To use the service, students can dial 785-395-SAFE (7233) or press one of the blue light phone emergency buttons to have a police escort or security guard walk them to another on-campus destination or up to two blocks off campus.

A police or security escort will meet the caller as quickly as possible. Persons driving to campus can arrange to be met in the parking lot and escorted to the residence halls or another location. The program is free.

“That’s one that we really encourage when you have been in the library late at night or you’re doing some studying late,” Grice said.

important contacts

Emergency phone number:                              911 or 9-911

Administrative phone number:                        785-532-6412

Internet address                                   www.ksu.edu/police

Anonymous and confidential reporting: www.ksu.edu/police/silent

Stop at Crosswalks for All Drivers

Grice said there has been an increase in the number of individuals getting hit at crosswalks.

“Just be careful that you stop and look both ways and don’t just assume that the driver is going to stop,” Grice said.

Follow Local Laws,  Like Phone Ban

Since K-State is annexed to the city, any law made can apply to campus. Both Grice and Stubbings said the new state and city laws regarding cell phone usage are probably the most overlooked laws on campus.

“It is now unlawful in the city of Manhattan to talk on a cell phone or text while driving,” Grice said.

He said violators currently get warnings, but after Jan. 1, 2011, officers will be able to fine drivers.

Prevent Crime with Safe Habits

Stubbings said the best ways for students to prevent crime is to secure their valuables, lock their rooms, even when leaving for a short period like dinner, and communicate with their roommates about room security and who is locking the door. Stubbings also said it is important to record serial numbers of high value items.

If a crime is witnessed, Stubbings said the first thing to do is call the police. He also said it is important to try to remember important information like the suspect’s description and vehicle information.

“Report it immediately,” he said. “The quicker we can start an investigation the better the chance your items can be recovered.”

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Clery Act/Campus Crime Report

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Clery Act report available in Glenns campus facilities office and posted in academic wing hallway

CRIME ALERT - Aggravated Assault - Off Campus

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Posted 8/23/2010

On Friday, Aug. 20, 2010, at approximately 11:52 p.m., a person was shot once in the arm and once in the leg in the alley behind the TGI Fridays located at 2034 West End Ave. The victim, who was not affiliated with Vanderbilt University, was transported to a medical facility for treatment. No motive is currently known for the assault and the suspects left in an unknown direction.

Suspect Description:  Per Metro Police, the suspects are described as two black males, one with dreadlocks.

If you have information relating to these or similar incidents, please call Vanderbilt University Police Department at (615) 322-2745. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME (742-7463).
 
 

announcements

KSU POLICE DEPARTMENT
ARREST LOG
AUGUST 20-23 2010

August 20: Sunday L Schmidt 28: Issued notice to appear for driving outside of restrictions.

August 20: Bree R Bozeman 20: Issued Notice to Appear for driving on a cancelled drivers license.

August 21: Adrienne S Bergkamp 20: Issued Notice to Appear for no proof of liability insurance and wrong tags on vehicle.

August 21: John L Melton 23: Arrested for Criminal Damage to Property, resisting arrest, battery of a Law Enforcement Officer, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of the legal process.

August 22: David A Nigro 21: Arrested for DUI

By Janelle MacDonald - bio | email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A crime alert on the University of Louisville campus just as students head back to class. WAVE 3 is working for U of L students and their parents to find out what happened in this armed robbery and what police are doing about it.

The first days of college are as much about learning to navigate life as they are about navigating around campus.

"Mom and dad's not there to help you anymore," says freshman Macey Rice.

So she says when she heard about an armed robbery at Stansbury Park near campus, it really opened her eyes.

"I think it's kind of scary to know because I know they were freshmen too so to know that you can just nonchalantly go somewhere and be held at gunpoint is really scary for me," Rice said.

Police say two robbers walked up to a group of students late Thursday night, one of them flashed a gun, and then the pair robbed them.

"They approached four students," said University Police Lieutenant Colonel Kenny Brown. "They weren't in a group together, but they were very close to each other and the suspects demanded their personal effects, cell phones, I think wallet, what have you."

Brown says the robbers were either really bold or really lucky because a special patrol of Louisville Metro Police and U of L police officers who were working the outskirts of campus had just left the park ten minutes earlier.

"Unfortunately I guess we can't be every place at all times," Brown said. "You know, I don't know whether these people were just extra bold or just didn't see the police and just kind of blundered in but needless to say, we took that kind of personally."

Rice took it kind of personally too.

"I live right there so it literally happened right next door to us," she said.

She says it's a good reminder for freshmen just learning the campus ways: "Don't go into the park at night, stuff like your parents teach you. It's something you kind of forget about when you're in college, when you're on your own."

Brown says they do have a person of interest, although he's not naming him.

The descriptions of the two robbers are vague. Both are 18 to 19 years old. One of them has two defining features: gold front teeth and tattoos of flames on his stomach area.

Brown says that special patrol -- the partnership between campus police and LMPD -- has nabbed 17 arrests. One of those was a man wanted in several states for sex crimes. Another was a man wanted on four charges of armed robbery.

Copyright 2010 WAVE News. All rights reserved.

OAKLAND -- Two suspected East Oakland gang members were arrested on the Laney College campus Monday morning after two guns, including a loaded .40-caliber pistol, were found in their backpacks, police said.