Steuben Hall (pictured above) has had 11 reported incidents in the crime log since November 2018. Three of these incidents resulted in arrests, six were closed by investigation, and two are pending investigation. On South Side there were more (Michaela VanWormer/Staff Photographer).
The largest amount of crime on campus occurs in residence halls that house primarily freshmen, according to the University Police Crime Log. The most common crimes include possession of marijuana and petit larceny.
The Crime Log is available online and UPD maintains the log with criminal incidents reported on campus. Once reported, the Crime Log is updated within two business days and dates back as far as November 2017.
UPD Chief Thomas Kilcullen explained that the Crime Log is based on four assessments of crime: patrol-supervising, directed patrols, parking lot patrols and monitoring fire alarms.
“Anytime we take a crime report or a non-criminal report, it will get a stamp GPS location on where and what has occurred,” Kilcullen said. “And so, because we have that ability … using community policing and being responsive … if we respond to any kind of occurrence, we will suppress it or displace it and those are the goals.”
According to the Crime Log, there were 85 crimes reported in primarily freshmen residence halls including Nassau, Suffolk, Niagara, Onondaga, Wayne, Livingston, Steuben and Jones.
“First-year students are more vulnerable to crime on college campuses,” Kilcullen said. Kilcullen refers to this vulnerability as a lack of “focus.”
“For example, let’s say a freshman is late for class and as they exit [their residence hall], the door isn’t fully secured as the door closes behind them,” Kilcullen said. “It’s not completely latched and then therefore there’s an opportunity for someone who finds a door that’s not completely secured … and they take something. That constitutes under New York State law as petit larceny.”
There were 44 reports of crime in primarily upperclassmen residence halls including Allegany, Monroe, the Saratoga Townhouses, Erie, Genesee, Ontario, Putnam, Seneca and Wyoming.
“I think why you may see more crimes in the log within first-year areas is because they have not fully developed the sense of actions have consequences,” Coordinator of Student Life for Housing Operations Taylor Gale said in a statement. “Particularly our first-year students have this new sense of freedom and exploration, which is great, but depending on what exactly is done with that there is some risk involved with certain choices and activities, which may not be fully taken into account.”
An RA spoke with The Lamron about the crime in freshmen residence halls and requested anonymity.
“This is my second year working in a predominately freshmen building and I think that crime mainly happens in freshman buildings because this is the freshman’s first year in college,” the RA said. “They’re still adjusting to living on their own and they’re trying to grow up at the same time.”
According to the Crime Log, the largest reported crime was unlawful possession of marijuana, with over 85 reported cases.
The RA explained that they receive lots of training on how to handle situations and talk to residents when crimes occur.
“If we see a rise in possession of marijuana or we see a lot of residents are getting caught with underage drinking and stuff like that, we can have a program where we have UPD come in and they do fun activities surrounded around awareness about marijuana and alcohol.
News editor Emma Boskovski contributed to this article.