Despite some incidences of high-profile crimes in the past
several years ““ such as the string of sexual batteries by the
“Westwood groper” and an alleged rape in the residence
halls ““ it is theft that university police say students
should worry about most.
While violent crimes such as rape or robbery tend to create a
larger buzz, the majority of crimes reported at UCLA are what Nancy
Greenstein, director of police community services for university
police, calls “crimes of opportunity,” or property
theft.
According to a draft of the UCPD Annual Report & Crime
Statistics 2005, 793 incidents of larceny ““ defined as
wrongful taking of property ““ were reported, compared to 102
violent crimes.
Though property theft is the most common type of crime, the rate
of occurence on campus has generally been on the decline in the
past four years, with a few minor fluctuations.
In general, the number of crimes in recent years has not
exceeded those recorded in 2002. According to university police
statistics, a total of 1,242 violent and property crimes were
reported in 2005. This makes for 75 more than in 2004, but 71 less
than in 2003 and 222 less than in 2002.
Ivona Sismanovic, a fourth-year international development
studies student, has been at UCLA long enough to experience the
trend, yet has not noticed a big difference. Sismanovic said she
has never really felt unsafe, except at night when she takes
“normal precautions and (tries) not to walk alone.”
“You don’t realize to take that precaution until
something actually happens,” she said.
While Sismanovic does acknowledge having felt a bit safer in the
past two years, she attributes this mostly to the fact that she now
lives off campus, as opposed to her first two years on campus when
she remembers hearing about an incidence of reported rape in a
residence hall.
But Greenstein said students tend to be less aware of the
possibility of property theft, which may also contribute to theft
being the most common type of crime on and near campus. Because
students are easily trusting, they are also easy to take advantage
of, she said.
“I’ve never really thought that other students would
take my things,” Sismanovic said. “I’ve always
felt (like) we’re just a big family, but I’ve noticed
lately that there are a lot of homeless people that I didn’t
notice before. I feel like students may not steal things, but the
visitors might.”
Greenstein said the best way to avoid becoming the victim of a
crime is to be aware of one’s surroundings.
First-year graduate student Isabel Chang, who also attended UCLA
for three years as an undergraduate student, said she felt that
while certain crimes in the past year, such as the sexual
batteries, were more publicized, it did not change her overall
perception of safety on campus.
“I know there seems to be more incidents, and it’s
in the neighborhood where many students live, but I’ve never
really felt it was different,” Chang said. “You still
take the same precautions, even though you think it’ll never
happen to you.”
University police statistics showed that total crime, ranging
from violent crime to vandalism, was “pretty even”
compared to last year, said Greenstein.
“We’re part of the urban area, so there’ll
always be crime,” she said. “Some years are going to be
higher than others; you just want to see overall trends.”