Friday, October 30, 1998
Recent Assaults Target Women
CAMPUS: Necessity to be vigilant, report problems emphasized by
incidents
By Ann Hawkey
Daily Bruin Contributor
As women on campus go for their nightly run, walk to their car
after a long day or wait for a bus that’s always running late, they
might not realize that they could be targets for a number of
crimes.
On Oct. 18, the university police department (UCPD) received an
unusually high number of calls reporting crimes against women, each
allegedly involving the same suspect.
One call reported an attempted kidnapping of a jogger on Veteran
Avenue, and three other calls reported incidents of lewd conduct,
on both Veteran Avenue and Hilgard Avenue.
The calls were all received within an hour of each other, and
each woman provided a description of the suspect as well as his
car.
One woman was also able to provide a license plate number, which
gave police a name and address of the suspect, 35-year-old Donald
Boomhower.
Boomhower was arrested the next day while leaving his home in
Culver City.
To try to prevent further crimes like this, UCPD offers several
programs focusing on women’s safety. The department offers
educational presentations, information about crime prevention
techniques and various safety tips.
"We work with a lot of centers on campus – the women’s resource
center, the dorms, sororities – and we have educational programs
available for any group that is interested," said Nancy Greenstein,
director of the community services division at the UCPD. "We work
with groups and identify their unique issues and then personalize
our programs."
UCPD offers tips for safety in the workplace, on the bus, at the
bus stop, in parking lots and on the street.
Some basic tips involve being aware of your surroundings,
knowing self-defense techniques and avoiding dangerous
situations.
Also, the way women respond to crimes when they happen can make
an important difference in identifying the criminals and helping
prevent future crimes.
Remembering any details in a crime, from a description of the
suspect to the type of car used, can help police apprehend
suspects.
"It really helped tie the cases together that they were all able
to give the car description," said UCPD detective Terry Brown.
"Also, the fact that all of these women reported it within 45
minutes – all of that was extremely helpful."
Boomhower is now being charged with one count of assault with
intent to commit rape, one count of attempted kidnapping and three
counts of indecent exposure.
Boomhower posted his $100,000 bail and is awaiting his pretrial
hearing, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 30.
One of the victims said she did not realize how serious the
incident was until she talked to the police and found out about the
other victims.
"I didn’t think too much of the incident that night," she said.
"I called the police just to let them know that (some) guy was out
there.
"I got pretty shaken up knowing he tried to kidnap someone," she
said. "He didn’t touch me or anything, but it could have been much
more serious."
Even if the incident does not seem to be a major crime, anyone
who seems suspicious should be reported to UCPD, Greenstein
said.
"If there’s someone who for some reason makes you fearful, it’s
best to call us," Greenstein said. "It’s our job; we’re here 24
hours a day. It’s really easy for us to just radio out to one of
our patrol cars to check on it."
Brown said although there is no evidence of other crimes of this
type committed that day, crimes of this nature often go
unreported.
"Whether they feel like they were actually hurt or not, it’s
still a crime and we would encourage them to report anything – from
indecent exposure to the more serious level, like what happened in
the (alleged) kidnapping," Brown said.
Despite the relatively low occurrence of this type of crime, the
victim said she still does not feel completely safe on campus.
"The first couple of days after it happened were pretty
difficult," she said. "I was really scared walking around campus. I
didn’t feel safe anywhere."
"Just because they put (this suspect) in jail doesn’t mean there
isn’t somebody else out there that could do the same thing," she
said.JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Campus safety is a concern after an alleged attempted kidnapping
of a woman jogging alone.
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