Crime reports at Kansas University decreased in 2002 for the fifth-straight year, university officials announced Wednesday.

There were 807 crimes reported to the KU Public Safety Office last year, down 10 percent from 2001.

“We’re extremely pleased,” Lt. Schuyler Bailey said. “Those are very dramatic numbers.”

They’re even more dramatic when looking at a five-year trend. Crime is down 45 percent since 1997, when 1,479 crimes were reported.

Bailey credited several factors, including education programs, for the decrease.

“I think it’s the combination of better lighting on campus, people simply being more aware of things and taking care of their property and the aggressiveness of our officers,” he said.

One of the biggest drops of the past five years were in burglaries, which have decreased 53.7 percent, though they were up slightly last year. Bailey said several key arrests made about five years ago sent a message to would-be thieves.

“We were aggressive in our patrol operations,” he said. “I think part of it is word got around.”

The drop in crime comes at a time when KU Public Safety Office staff is decreasing. Ralph Oliver, the office’s director, said budget cuts had led to the elimination of one officer, one dispatcher and one security position in the past year.

But he urged students, faculty and staff to continue to report all crimes to the office, especially rapes. There was only one rape reported on campus last year.

“We recognize that rape, especially date or acquaintance rape, is an underreported crime,” Oliver said. “Despite the recent budget cuts, the university administration continues to support this department and its employees as we work to make this campus as safe as it can be, but the community must do their part.”