Crime statistics from colleges and universities across the nation are being gathered this year for the first time in an effort to compare campus crime rates.

Although ISU Department of Public Safety officials said this is a good start, they don’t want students to make decisions based solely on the numbers.

“I’m overall pleased that people are paying attention to the issue of safety on campus,” said Chuck Cychosz, DPS manager of crime prevention, research and training.

He said people should be concerned about their safety and the quality of law enforcement services in a college community, but crime statistics are only part of the story.

“We know not all crime is reported,” he said. “People need to be reminded that crime statistics like these represent the reports made only to police.”

For instance, he said, Story County has been concerned with sexual assaults, and there has been a push countywide to increase the number of reported incidents.

He stressed that increasing numbers do not necessarily mean an increase in cases. It simply means more people are reporting the offense and not getting away with it, he said.

“I’m not sure there’s enough consistency across the country to make a really fine distinction between schools based on the data that is reported,” he said. “On the other hand, we need to be talking about crime on campus, and we need to be giving people indicators.”

Officials in the U.S. Department of Education decided that all college and university crime statistics would be gathered and placed online to inform potential college students and their parents about the individual school’s campus crimes.

All statistics were turned into the education department’s Office of Post Secondary Education by Oct. 1.

Cychosz said the crime numbers give an accurate depiction of police activity, and the system will be improved based on the experience the schools had this year in submitting their data.

“There may be information we need to hear from consumers, from students and from families about what information is really important to them and what form is most useful to them,” he said.

Loras Jaeger, director of DPS, agreed that the system will improve in years to come.

“I think the Web site is somewhat confusing to follow, but I expect it will get better as the project moves forward,” he said. “It’s a good first go-around.”

Jaeger said this new system is better than what was offered in the past through the Federal Bureau of Investigation reports because this system contains statistics from the whole community.

“It gives parents a realistic view of campus security and security in surrounding areas,” he said.

The crime statistics can be accessed online at www.ope.ed.gov/security.