Crime at and around UCLA has decreased in the last year, but
that does not mean precautions and preventative measures should be
overlooked, say university police and university officials.
According to newly released crime statistics from the UCPD,
there were 1,167 violent and property crimes at UCLA in 2004, a
decrease of 146 from the 2003 report. Most offenses are property
crimes; only 36 violent crimes were reported in 2003.
“Most property crimes could have been avoided with simple
precautions,” said Nancy Greenstein, director of police
community services for UCPD.
The most common property crime is larceny, including bicycle
theft, and accounted for 776 of the incidents. The second is
burglary, followed by vehicle theft and arson.
UCPD has various programs to help decrease property crimes. One
is the Security Tracking of Office Property, which can help prevent
the theft of laptops and other office materials by installing a
security plate on the item with a personal identification number
for retrieval. For a $20 fee, the service will enter the data into
the national data bank and is intended to increase the chance of
retrieval if the item is ever stolen.
Although the number of vehicle thefts increased by 16 from last
year, it is still lower than the average rate.
“We park over 22,000 cars a day. That is more than
LAX,” Greenstein said. “We are a supermarket for auto
thieves, so I advise (students) to use security devices, leave
nothing visible within the car, and leave the doors
locked.”
Another UCPD program is the Community Service Officers, composed
of students who patrol the area surrounding UCLA and are available
to escort students from dusk until 1 a.m. The service is free to
all UCLA students, faculty, staff or visitors. In addition to
campus, service officers also serve the Westwood Village area
within the boundaries of Sunset Boulevard to the north, Hilgard
Avenue to the east, Wilshire Boulevard to the south and Veteran
Avenue to the west.
Other services include an evening van service that provides
transportation around campus and nearby residential areas during
evening hours. This service is also free for UCLA students,
employees and visitors.
Both the CSO and Emergency Medical Services programs are run out
of UCPD by well-trained UCLA students who are interested in those
types of fields, Greenstein said.
For those who live on campus, residence halls provide a very
safe living environment, but it’s good to be cautious, said
Elizabeth Vega, a resident assistant in Saxon Suites. RAs are in
charge of enforcing on-campus policy and do rounds alongside CSOs.
They also serve as watchdogs by reporting suspicious activities and
crimes to the CSOs and UCPD.
Vega encourages students to look out for strangers, not to leave
doors open or bolted when residents aren’t in their rooms,
and to close their windows and curtains.
Students should also never walk alone, and should utilize the
CSO escort service, especially at night, she said.
“Everyone should use these (precautions), especially at
the suites, where people are next to the road and easily
targeted,” Vega said.
Most violent crimes were aggravated assaults, with rape and
robberies coming in second. Of those arrested for property and
violent crimes, most were non-UCLA affiliated individuals. Most of
the property crime statistics compiled by UCPD consist of on-campus
crimes, because crimes in the off-campus area are mostly reported
to the Los Angeles Police Department.
UCPD recommends that students choose not to drink, or to drink
in moderation with a motto of “friends should watch out for
friends” to reduce the risk of being victimized while
intoxicated. University police also encourage freshmen to enter the
department’s dispatch number into their cell phones, because
if they call 911 in the event of an emergency, they will have to
wait longer to be transferred back to UCPD. The UCPD Dispatch
number is (310) 825-1491.