The Department of Public Safety’s “Safety and You” report, released last week, showed arrests relating to alcohol overwhelmingly rank as the No. 1 offense committed in campus boundaries.

The annual publication is designed to inform the ISU community of department services, crime prevention intervention, comparative crime statistics, disciplinary procedures and resource information, said DPS Director Jerry Stewart.

Liquor law arrests ranked as the No. 1 committed offense within campus boundaries, according to the report. In 2000, there were 193 alcohol-related arrests. Those numbers increased sharply in 2001 (494 offenses) and again in 2002 (577 offenses).

“The number of liquor law violations has certainly increased during the past few years,” Stewart said. “That is due, in part, to proactive law enforcement efforts.”

Stewart said in some cases, the number of custodial arrests have remained steady or declined during that time period, which is a direct result of DPS’s philosophy of early intervention.

“I would much rather our officers deal with a minor law violation earlier in the evening than deal with a more serious incident that might arise later on,” Stewart said. “It is far better to issue an underage possession citation at 10 p.m. than respond to a drunk driving accident at 2 a.m.”

Stewart added ISU Police will purposely have officers on duty at certain times and days of the week when alcohol activity may be more prevalent, such as tailgating parking lots at ISU football games.

The number of drug law violations also saw an increase, according to the report. In 2000, there were 40 arrests for drug law violations; in 2001, there were 39 arrests and in 2002, 52 arrests.

“Drug law violations have increased somewhat,” Stewart said. “They are primarily driven by complaints from residence halls or by special events such as concerts.”

Burglaries were one category that decreased in occurrence. In both 2000 and 2001, there were 48 reported burglaries; in 2002 these numbers dropped to 32.

One noticeable noncrime statistic was in the hate crime category. Although a handful of biased criminal activity occurred on the ISU campus last year, the report showed in 2000, 2001 and 2002, there were no hate crimes reported to police.

“We as a department feel that those incidents that happened last year were disturbing and that’s why we offered a reward for the person or persons involved,” Stewart said. “They did not constitute as a hate crime because of the lack of identification of a personal victim.”

Stewart said the offenses are compiled as required in the provisions of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

According to www.securityoncampus.org, the Clery Act, originally enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 1990 as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. The Act was championed by Howard and Connie Clery after their daughter Jeanne was murdered at Lehigh University in 1986.

Stewart said the report is not an entire depiction of the DPS charge summary.

“The crime statistics listed in the ‘Safety and You’ [report] do not represent the total number of charges filed by ISU Police officers because the Clery Act specifies geographic boundaries that define on campus and campus-related jurisdictions,” Stewart said. “That said, all officers respond to calls and take action in areas that might be immediately adjacent to defined Clery Act boundaries.”

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said one of DPS’s goals is to prevent crime from occurring.

“As a department, we choose to go above and beyond,” Deisinger said. “As a rule, we are very open about investigations and we’ll continue to be so.”

Deisinger encouraged students, faculty and staff to “look at a variety of sources about risk of victimization.

“The crime data is a valuable source, but not the only one,” Deisinger said. “I encourage people to review all the material presented and I hope it generates questions and discussion.”

The 2003 “Safety and You” report can be viewed on the DPS Web site, http://www.dps.iastate. edu. Those wanting a paper copy may stop by the ISU Police Dispatch Center on the north side of the Armory Building or request a copy by mail by calling (515) 294-4428.