Even with the Department of Public Safety patrolling the campus and the Ames Police Department making rounds as well, crime still occurs on the Iowa State campus.

However, Jerry Stewart, associate director of DPS, said ISU is comparable in its criminal statistics to other universities with student populations near 25,000.

“We have long known that all crimes are under-reported for a variety of reasons,” he said. “We always encourage people to report all crimes, whether it be from minor harassment to felonies.”

According to the annual FBI Uniform Crime Reporting system, ISU had a total of six violent crime reports, including two forcible rapes, in 1998 as compared to the three reported in 1997.

Violent crimes include murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

In 1998, ISU reported 391 property crime incidents, a decrease from the 522 in 1997.

Property crime incidents include burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

All three state universities — University of Iowa, population near 28,500; University of Northern Iowa, population near 13,200; and ISU — rank closely in reported incidents.

The statistics correspond to the university’s population and geographic layout.

U of I had 11 reports of violent crime that included 10 forcible rapes and 413 property crimes.

“The geography of our campus is contiguous — we have no city islands,” Cychosz said. “[U of I] has commercial developments poking real estate into their campus, so they get some of the crime related to that.”

UNI had two violent crime reports, but they have 12,000 fewer students than ISU and about 16,000 less than U of I. UNI also reported 162 property crimes.

DPS officials stressed that the increase in numbers at ISU doesn’t necessarily mean crime is on the rise. It could indicate an increase in reporting, which officers encourage victims to do.

“We make serious attempts at getting sexual assaults reported, and we are doing a better job with those that are reporting,” said Charles Cychosz, manager of crime prevention and research at DPS. “Forcible rapes are under-reported across the country; we are trying to create a system to respond to victims better to increase reporting.”

Stewart said outreach efforts alone, such as the Sexual Assault Response Team, are encouraging women to report when they’ve been victimized.

“Reporting doesn’t necessarily mean we as a community are experiencing a higher number of sexual assaults,” he said.

Cychosz and Stewart said during the past three years, DPS has increased the number of officers on patrol to deter the number of property crimes on campus.

In addition to the patrol officers, the HelpVan and student officers also help in combating crime.

“We think the university as a whole is making progress in securing buildings, computers and equipment,” Cychosz said. “Faculty, staff and students are doing a better job at securing [items]; they’re our partners in this effort.”

Stewart added that DPS is constantly analyzing campus crime incidents, looking for ways to keep them from occurring.

One example of DPS’s proactive approach occurred last January through. DPS officials posted fliers throughout the Lied Recreation facility encouraging visitors to use free lockers located on the first floor to help decrease theft.

“There was a higher degree of theft there than in the academic buildings,” Stewart said. “Typically, it was theft of credit cards, cash and wallets that were left unattended while owners participated in recreational activities. The heightened awareness [from fliers] deterred the criminal activity.”

Both Cychosz and Stewart said students shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that ISU is unsafe when viewing the statistics. The long-term trends are what’s important.

“Iowa State is a safe place, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have crime,” Cychosz said. “We don’t want to cry wolf and pretend we have a dangerous campus. Yes, book bags get stolen in the library — watch them [or take them with you]. Lock your residence hall door if you are not there.”