Police spokesman Paul Dillon remembers how summer crime went in College Park 20 years ago.
“Ghost town,” he said. “There was hardly anything going on at all.”
Nowadays, the university is more active year-round and has more programs during the summer months. As a result, although summer is quieter than spring and fall, crime no longer disappears with the students.
University Police crime statistics showed increases in burglaries and motor vehicle thefts this summer compared to recent years. A crime blotter shows 20 cases of burglary during August, the most cases in one summer month since June 2006. Five motor vehicle thefts were reported each in June and July.
However, the most common crime at the university, theft, fell for the second summer in a row.
Dillon said this year’s crime totals are roughly comparable to the numbers at this time of year in 2007, when on-campus crime reached a 10-year low.
“We are hopeful that the numbers stay down and we have another year similar to 2007,” Dillon said.
Theft between January and August dropped from 264 cases last year to 232 this year. Despite 10 stolen vehicles this June and July, motor vehicle thefts so far in 2008 are down to 26 as compared to 36 through August last year, police records show.
Crime statistics for August are based on the University Police department’s regularly updated crime blotter. Official statistics for August are not yet available.
Overall, University Police are enjoying a relatively slow year in crime through August. There have been 10 violent crimes reported so far this year, one of the lowest totals since 1999. Property crimes are also down to 368 reported cases through August, well below the five- and 10-year averages, according to police statistics.
The most troubling aspect of crime statistics this year to date is burglary. There were 90 break-ins in 2008 by the end of July, compared to 89 in all of 2007, according to the University Police website.
The university’s Strategic Enforcement Response Team, a police unit that reacts to crime trends, is struggling to slow the increase.
“It’s tough to deal with, because people could be leaving their homes or buildings unsecured or criminals could be forcibly entering,” said Lt. Robert Mueck, commander of SERT. “It’s hard to nail it down to one factor.”
The university is working on a program to help educate residents on preventing burglary, Mueck said. He expects the program to receive approval within the next few weeks.
Plainclothes officers have also been patrolling parking lots to cut down on the number of motor vehicle thefts after the unusually high number of incidents in June and July, Mueck said. Only one stolen vehicle was reported during August, according to the crime blotter on the University Police website.
“We’re working hard and giving a sustained effort to push crime out of College Park,” Mueck said. “The numbers can change from year to year without a specific explanation, so we’re just doing our best and trying to pay attention to the right things.”
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