Campus crime stays steady

Crime rates at Weber State University have stayed consistent over the past two years despite an increase in enrollment and a bad economy.
Following a national trend, crime at WSU has remained unaffected by the economy, according to recent statistics. Major cities across America are seeing crime rates either stay consistent or drop in spite of a recession. Major cities like New York have seen a 13 percent decrease in overall crime this year, while Los Angeles has seen a 4.9 percent decrease in violent crime in 2009, according to police department numbers from both New York and Los Angeles agencies. Even in Ogden a decrease was shown, with a crime rate index of 55 last year, dropping from a high of 90 before the economic crunch, according to a 2008 Uniform Crime Report from the FBI. 
While the poor economy is giving the university an increase in overall admissions, it shows no signs of affecting crime.
“There’s so many variables involved with crime rates fluctuating,” said criminal justice professor Samuel Newton. “Some would say it’s because we have more police officers, but that hasn’t been shown to have much of a correlation.”
As is the case in most of the country, the WSU police force has more to do with less help. Despite the university’s increase in enrollment, the police force has stayed the same because of the economy. Much like the rest of America’s police force, WSU police are unable to train and hire new officers.
“Some people would say it’s because of the demographics of a certain area, but with the economy down, if that were true crime would be going up,” Newton said.
Statistics indicate that if a person wasn’t likely to steal before an economic downturn, they probably won’t because of it. 
Newton said he believes people will speculate why crime is down during a recession, but thinks there isn’t really a rhyme or reason to it.
“Some people have said it’s because of the Get Tough on Crime policy, but that’s not necessarily true,” Newton said. “Some people would say it’s because people aren’t reporting crime as much.”
While Get Tough policies have been shown to decrease the amount of crime in America, they have led the country into one of the largest incarceration rates in the amount of crime in America, they have led the country into one of the largest incarceration rates in the world. In 2008, the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project found that one in every 100 American males was in prison. There are currently around 2.2 million U.S. citizens in jail, costing the country around $60 billion a year to feed, house and clothe. People in support of Get Tough policies believe it keeps possible repeat offenders on a short leash and deters them from future crimes, while people opposed to the policy believe it doesn’t fix the problem but instead uses incarceration as a Band-Aid.
A major factor for possible criminals is opportunity. WSU Police Lieutenant Michael Davies said the biggest factor for criminals is the opportunity to commit a crime by leaving a car unlocked or a backpack by itself. Most crimes aren’t planned out, but made up in the moment.
Cases of police brutality, such as the Rodney King arrest in the early ‘90s and other horror stories of police doing wrong, have some Americans turned off to the idea of police help. The apathy many people feel about reporting crimes is something Davies hopes will change.
“People keeping an eye out for suspicious activity makes our job easier,” Davies said.
Anonymous tips and keeping an eye out can go a long way in helping find criminals. WSU serves as an example of what the country is going through on a much larger scale.