James Shearer
Staff Writer
The Jackson State University Summary of Reported Crimes, issued by the JSU Department of Public Safety, asserts that from 2007 to 2010 a combined total of 70 incidents of burglary and robbery were reported on university property.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report defines burglary as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft,” and robbery as “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.”
According to the Department’s Crime Log there were over 25 reported incidents of stolen property in the month of August, 2011 alone. Items reported as stolen include wallets, backpacks, cell phones, and other personal belongings. The punishments for these crimes could range from a simple visit to Judicial Services, to charges of grand larceny.
Sophomore Carlos Smith was skeptical of the report. “Those numbers sound good, but I think more crime than that happens on campus,” he said.
The department’s Summary of Reported Crimes 2007-10 maintains that only two burglaries were reported in 2008, while the other three years had between 17 and 22. What happened that year? Senior Chris Funches said, “I think campus police were more visible that year. Also, the freshman class was more cohesive, so we didn’t have as many people wanting to steal from each other.”
All of this information is made available to students online in compliance with the Federal Student Right To Know and Campus Police Act. Some crimes are not required to be included in the statistics the department publishes.
The FBI’s definition of burglary requires that the offender enters a structure unlawfully. But what if the thief enters lawfully? If a student steals his roommate’s laptop or if someone steals a bag at the Walter Payton, how is the incident classified?
According to the Department of Public Safety 2010 Annual Calendar Report memorandum, sent from Director of Public Safety Tyrone Kidd to Willie G. Brown, the Vice President of Information and Process Management, there were a total of 209 thefts reported in 2010.
According to DeVeesha Magee, interim associate director, said the Department of Public Safety “isn’t required to include that information (thefts),” in the Summary of Reported Crimes.
Sophomore Wade Jackson said, “I feel like that’s wrong. They tell us to be informed, but they don’t give us important information. We need the whole picture.”
According to some officers who were willing to talk off the record, the portion of Lynch Street that runs alongside the Liberal Arts building and the College of Business is not technically in JSU’s jurisdiction.
The latest Annual Safety Report states, “The Mississippi Legislature has given the JSU Dept. of Public Safety authority to ticket and tow illegally parked vehicles on streets bordering the campus,” but they aren’t required or allowed to police that street, and thus, when crime happens there, it doesn’t get included in campus crime statistics.
Nevertheless, it is recommended that crime in the area is reported to campus police. They may be able to arrive earlier than the Jackson Police Department and can still be of some assistance.
The number of crimes reported to students in the Summary of Reported Crimes and the number of crimes reported in the 2010 Annual Calendar Report don’t match. One states that from 2009-10 auto theft went up by 75 percent, but the other states it went up by 125 percent.
There also were different numbers reported in 2009 and 2010 for both robbery and burglary.
“The total number of index crimes reported increased 5% from 215 to 225 for the year 2010.” Index crimes consist of robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft, arson, rape, and murder.
During the calendar year 2010, the public safety department received 3,872 calls for service, filed 1,068 incident reports, made 30 arrests, provided 11 assists to JPD and issued 5,380 campus tickets for improper parking.
The department also provided 209 transports in response to student emergencies, and 615 escorts for faculty, staff, students and visitors across campus.
A copy of the Summary of Reported Crimes is available in the JSU Department of Public Safety. You can visit the site at: http://sites.jsums.edu/publicsafety/
