Bicycles are popular on the Kansas University campus, but not just with their riders. Thieves like them too.

Bike thefts more than doubled last year, causing KU to break a consecutive five-year decrease in overall campus crime. A total of 46 bikes were stolen in 2003 compared with 21 stolen in 2002, KU Public Safety Department officers discovered.

“We got hit hard at the end of last year,” KU Capt. Schuyler Bailey said.

“In response, officers increased their patrol of bicycle racks and bicycle security was emphasized during crime prevention programs,” Public Safety Director Al Oliver said.

The new police effort appears to be working. As of mid-July only seven bikes had been stolen.

There were a total of 861 criminal offenses reported in 2003, which is a 6 percent increase from the number of criminal offenses reported in 2002. Still, Oliver was quick to note that the crime total represented a 40 percent decrease in crime compared with five years earlier.

Property crimes, which include bike thefts, make up most of campus crime, statistics show. Automobile burglaries also increased. There were 85 reported in 2003 and 80 in 2002. The five-year high was 203 in 1997. Building burglaries decreased slightly, from 82 in 2002 to 80 last year.

Violent crime made up less than 1 percent of the crimes reported last year. They included one rape and four aggravated assaults. There were two aggravated assaults and one rape reported in 2002.

KU Police are studying additional options that might make the campus safer and cut down on property crimes.

“Cameras that monitor parking lots and other public areas are common on many campuses,” Oliver said. “We are in the early stages of determining the most effective manner in which to use cameras at KU, but we believe their presence will discourage criminal activity in the lots and make it easier to see suspicious activity when it occurs.”

Wherever students are on campus, they shouldn’t be far from an emergency call box. More than 60 of them are scattered across campus. The boxes, which are basically speaker boxes, are painted yellow and have a direct voice link to the public safety center. All a caller has to do is push the button. The boxes are under large, blue lights. They can be found in the lobbies of main buildings as well as in outdoor areas.

Increased lighting in many key areas on campus also has helped decrease crime during the past five years, officers said.

“We’re always open to suggestions about how to make campus safer,” Bailey said.

In general, the safest places on campus from physical harm are places where there are a lot of people, Oliver said. At the same time, that also is where property crimes can occur, he said. Don’t leave books, pocketbooks or other items unattended, he said.

A listing and a map of emergency boxes as well as a wealth of additional information can be found on the public safety Web site (www.ku/~kucops/).

In addition, students and their parents might want to check out the Lawrence Police Department’s Web site (www.lawrencepolice.org/). It contains city crime statistics. It also has a map that allows a you to zero in on a neighborhood and call up recent crime statistics for that particular neighborhood.

Whether you are on campus or elsewhere in Lawrence or Douglas County, if you have an emergency, dial 911. You can report other crimes that occur on campus to the public safety office at 864-5900.