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SIUC leads Illinois universities in number of reported thefts

More thefts were reported at SIUC during the last six years than at any other Illinois university during the same period.

According to last year's Uniform Crime Report, 2,019 thefts were reported at SIUC from 1998 to 2003. In every year but 1999, SIUC reported more thefts than any other university in Illinois.

The University of Illinois at Champaign reported 1,851 thefts during the same six-year period, the second-highest total in Illinois. The school has 37,000 students.

SIUC reported 21,589 students enrolled for fall 2004.

Burglary is the second most common crime at Illinois universities, according to the Uniform Crime Report. UIUC reported 711 burglaries from 1998 to 2003, while SIUC reported 327.

Todd Sigler, director of public safety at SIUC, said theft is a bigger concern for campuses with large numbers of student residents than it is for commuter campuses.

Students have many opportunities to steal from other students on campuses with residence halls, Sigler said. He estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of thefts reported at SIUC are student-on-student crimes.

"Theft is a crime of opportunity and the penalties are less severe than for other crimes," Sigler said.

Oliver J. Clark, executive director of public safety at UIUC, said he doesn't pay too much attention to state statistics, preferring his department's own internal record-keeping.

Whether the records are being compiled by the state or by the local agency, Clark said, they reach the same conclusions about some things.

"Theft is always the highest number," Clark said.

Like SIUC, UIUC police keep detailed records on campus crime, including information on the time of day and location of crimes committed. This information is used to help police spot patterns and to inform the public of problem areas and possible risks, Clark said.

Clark said the Uniform Crime Report statistics aren't helpful in determining what is happening locally.

"I don't concern myself with trends," he said.

The Uniform Crime report lists several reasons why its raw numbers should be viewed with caution. For example, a community with a small population but a large number of employers and will have a substantial transient population, which can drive crime numbers upward.

Sigler said he uses statistics to identify problems that are more common during certain times of year, such as bicycle thefts, which tend to spike during warm weather. The University police tailor their patrol operations in anticipation of such spikes, Sigler said.

 

 

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