Though there have been two publicized accounts of aggravated assaults this month, the total number of assaults in 2006 decreased significantly from those in 2005. Theft was the most common crime in 2006, as it was also in 2005.
According to the 2006 UCPD Annual Report and Crime Statistics, the number of assaults decreased from 81 to 67 offenses this year, a decline of 17.3 percent. In 2006, there were 821 accounts of theft.
“The most common crime is a crime of opportunity,” said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for university police. “People see something they want and take it.”
The overall number of violent crimes, which include criminal homicide, rape, robbery and assault, has also decreased since 2005 from 102 offenses to 90, a decrease of 11.8 percent, according to the report.
But Emily Beugelmans, a first-year classical civilizations student, said she feels less safe on campus than she did before the publicized assaults, in which two female students were allegedly grabbed from behind late at night in Westwood, but were both able to flee the situation.
“I’m definitely more conscious of safety when I’m walking back to my dorm at night. I always try to walk with someone, when before, I didn’t have a problem walking by myself,” she said.
Scotti Norman, a third-year psychology and anthropology student who lives in an apartment in Westwood, said she felt safer when she was living on the Hill.
“Overall, I feel less safe living in the apartments than in the dorms,” she said. “When you come back to the apartments there aren’t a lot of people around, and the streets are not well lit. When you come back to the dorms, there are always people around.”
Though crime statistics for 2007 have not been released, Greenstein said she does not believe the numbers will show a significant increase in crime.
Norman experienced theft firsthand at the beginning of spring quarter, when CDs were stolen from her car, which was parked in her apartment parking lot.
“Someone had smashed the side window of my car and stolen my CDs. It was scary to think that either someone living in the apartments was stealing my belongings, or someone was able to enter a locked garage,” she said.
Since the theft, Norman said she has made precautions to prevent a similar occurrence.
“I don’t keep anything of value in my car anymore,” she said.
Yet Norman said she still feels more apprehensive living in the apartments than before the recent assaults took place.
“One of the assaults happened in the apartment building of one of my friends. I don’t like being home alone at night anymore because of the attacks that have been happening on campus,” she said.
Assaults usually happen between people who already know each other, Greenstein said. They are often alcohol induced, and can arise, for example, from disputes between friends at an event.
Greenstein said she believes the number of assaults has decreased due to increased education about alcohol moderation and people making a greater effort to look out for each other.
But Greenstein pointed out that this decrease should not be considered a trend until it is backed up by several years of data.
“Statistics are only a tool used to understand what is happening,” she said.
The UCPD has been under scrutiny this year since a UCLA student was stunned at least four times with a Taser in Powell library in November. Greenstein said the UCPD welcomes comments and suggestions from students to make them feel safer on campus.
Despite recent crimes, Beugelmans said she feels that the UCLA campus is safe overall because Westwood is considered a low crime-rate area.
“I feel this is a relatively safe campus just because of the area we are in. I think my friends at other colleges feel less safe because of the areas they are in,” she said.