Daniel Fowler, The Examiner
2007-09-28 07:00:00.0
Current rank: # 8,779 of 7,989

College Park -

Despite a recent wave of high-profile incidents involving University of Maryland students, crime is actually down on the College Park campus compared to the year ago period, according to a university official.

“The perception is that crime is up,” said university police spokesman Paul Dillon. “The reality is crime is down.”

From Jan. 1 through Sept. 25, violent crime incidents on campus are down 53.1 percent, from 32 in 2006 to 15 in 2007. Robberies are down 60 percent from 15 to 6 and aggravated assaults have dropped 43.8 percent, from 16 to 9.

“We are pleased that our crimes stats across the board are down as compared to last year,” Dillon said. “I think it reflects the hard work of our patrol officers, investigators and [the Strategic Enforcement Response Team].”

Property crime incidents are down 33.7 percent to 409 and hate bias incidents fell 30.8 percent to nine. Arson is the only category that has gone up, rising from two in 2006 to four in 2007. Dillon said the incidents have been minor, however.

But the positive statistics don’t tell the whole story, according to student government association president Andrew Friedson. “I think it’s not about the number of crimes that happen,” Friedson said. “It’s about the nature of the crimes, and the [recent] crimes have been particularly disconcerting, I think, for a lot of people.”

In the past few weeks, there has been a carjacking, peeping tom incidents in a dorm, the painting of a swastika and genitalia on cars parked on Fraternity Drive, and the discovery of a noose hanging outside an African-American cultural center.

Off campus, a man believed to have been involved in six peeping tom/indecent exposure incidents and a sexual assault since September 2006 is believed to have committed two more sexual assaults this month, and a student was robbed outside a party at gunpoint.

“In spite of the recent high-profile events, College Park remains a very safe community and the campus remains a very safe campus,” said Maj. Kevin Davis, District 1 Commander for the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“The geographical location of the University of Maryland in an urban/suburban setting makes it occasionally prone to criminal activity.”

dfowler@dcexaminer.com