Crime on KU campus dropped in 2010

Kansas University Public Safety officers said reported crimes on KU’s Lawrence campus dropped in 2010 from 2009, while officers made more arrests for alcohol and drug violations in a partnership with other agencies.

As his office released its annual report Friday, public safety Chief Ralph Oliver said fewer incidents of assault, theft and robbery accounted for the majority of the decrease. In 2009, 706 crimes were reported on campus compared with 692 in 2010. Both were down from the 956 crimes reported in 2000.

Robberies on campus dropped from eight in 2009 to zero in 2010.

“The department took a very proactive stance in 2010, placing uniformed and plainclothes officers in the areas where the robberies had occurred in 2009,” Oliver said in a statement. “Being able to have a greater presence in those areas really made a difference.”

Three students were robbed in connection with one March 2009 incident at McCollum Hall, and in April 2009 another student reported being robbed in the parking lot of the same residence hall, according to news reports.

KU officers also participated in a 2010 initiative titled Fake ID 101 — through a state grant obtained by DCCCA — with several other area agencies to target underage drinking and the use of fake IDs across Lawrence. KU officers made 48 arrests or citations for alcohol violations in 2010 compared with none in 2009.