The University of California’s branches in Berkeley and Los Angeles have been known to lead the rankings in academic and athletic excellence. But the schools’ top spots on the FBI’s 2008 “Crime in the U.S.” report are something the Golden State may not be so proud of.
The recently released CIUS report lists UCLA as having the highest number of violent crimes for the year 2008, with 58, while UC Berkeley is a not-too-distant second with 46 violent crimes for the year. Violent crimes included in the data are murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The two California schools also led in violent crimes per capita among large schools—those ranked among the top 100 nationwide for student enrollment. The schools (both of which have student populations in the mid-30,000s) had about 15 and 13 violent crimes per 10,000 students, respectively.
But those numbers don’t tell the entire story, said Jonathan Kassa, executive director for the nonprofit Security On Campus Inc.
“You really want to go beyond the statistics. Statistics are the beginning and the end, but [they’re] only the tip of the iceberg of the comprehensive policy and process,” Kassa said.
In many cases, Kassa said, higher numbers simply mean schools are getting better at reporting existing statistics. “You’ll have very low numbers that don’t necessarily reflect what the research has shown compared with schools that actually have a higher [number of reported crimes]—we like to tell students and parents that [the higher number] may indeed be a safer school.”
What’s equally important, he added, was to look at whether the school had a comprehensive policy for addressing security issues, both on and off campus. Kassa said one of the people leading the way in campus security issues was Eugene Zdziarski, vice president for student affairs at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
Zdziarski’s longstanding interest in security issues was put to the test in 1999. As the associate director for student life at Texas A&M University, he was in charge of coordinating the emergency response when a bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students.
“For me it’s always been an area of keen interest,” he said. But “certainly that experience solidified for me my priority in making [security coordination] a strong role as a college administrator.”
Zdziarski later became dean of students at the University of Florida, where he worked closely with local law enforcement on security issues, Klasso said. “When you get dean at that level embracing … public safety, you’re really going to get somewhere.”
Though the campus at Roanoke College, where Zdziarski moved in September 2008, is considerably smaller than his previous schools, he has begun to put in place a new crisis management plan at the school that includes added training for crisis responders, a card system for accessing buildings and emergency telephones with flashing blue lights.
“These are long term goals—particularly in this economy the money’s not there to do it all at once, but if you identify a problem, it can be accomplished,” Zdziarski said.
The FBI crime statistics for 2008 did not include Roanoke College.
One thing that has had a profound impact on his efforts is the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, a mere 40 miles from Roanoke College. The tragedy has helped raise people’s awareness of security issues, both in Virginia and on a nationwide level.
“It’s unfortunate, but oftentimes the resources, the time, the attention to it aren’t really available till something happens,” Zdziarski said.
Corp. James Deford, a community policing officer and crime prevention specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University, said other states looked to Virginia to lead the way following the Virginia Tech events. “Unfortunately, because of what happened in our state, we’ve become a leader in prevention.”
VCU ranked sixth among the country’s 100 largest schools for its violent crime rate. The school, with 31,700 students in 2008, reported about seven crimes per 10,000 students. However, six smaller schools in Virginia had higher violent crime rates.
In addition to implementing a text-messaging alert system, adding more campus alert boxes and beefing up rapid response since the Virginia Tech shootings, the school has emphasized its efforts to curb crime through prevention. This includes putting plain-clothes officers out to appear as victims and, in cases of larceny, using personal items as bait.
“We’re doing a lot more to be out there first,” Deford said.
But there are simple things students could also do to help ensure their safety on and around campus. “The biggest thing we push is self-awareness, to be aware of what’s going on around you and what type of environment you’re in,” Deford said.
“When you’re walking down street you don’t want to have your head down texting or have both earbuds in—make people aware that you’re paying attention to them as well so it makes you less of a target.”
