I figured I'd go ahead and put this up here for a complete tear down and rebuild so there's a better letter in the end. I wrote this last night when I was pretty tired from work and working on cars when I got out, so there are probably errors here and there - feel free to do your worst (*cough* I mean best!) for me!
Letter to the Editor – Crime on Campus and What You’re Not Being Told
We’ve all heard it from President Nancy Zimpher, University of Cincinnati Police Chief Gene Ferrera, Cincinnati Police Chief Colonel Thomas Streicher, and other political officials - crime is going down on The University of Cincinnati and in the surrounding community while claiming they have the figures to prove it. That may be what they say and claim, but this frankly isn’t the case.
Crime data from 2007 is only available up to October, and at first glance at the number of serious crime seems to be going down. What these officials haven’t said is that when taking a ten-month average from 2006 of serious crimes on all 4 University of Cincinnati campuses the serious crime rate is actually up. Using the available data from the University of Cincinnati Police department, there were 416 serious crimes from January 2007 to October 2007 (which is the only data available at the moment), and 457 in all 12 months of 2006. We still have two months to go in 2007, and we’re only 41 incidents away from matching last year’s numbers. In fact, a 10-month average from 2006 shows a gain of nearly 36 incidents of serious crime in 2007 on The University of Cincinnati’s four campuses. Cincinnati Police Department District Five shows a similar tale, with serious crimes nearly neck and neck for 2007 when compared to the ten-month average from 2006.
It’s time that University officials face the music. Crime is not down nearly 35% like President Zimpher said during her 2007 State of the University address. It is the same, if not worse, and students still are not allowed to have any defensive items on them if they are in accordance with University of Cincinnati policies. It’s time to change this and let the students take responsibility for their own safety, as neither the University itself nor the two police departments can do the job. I know that help phones, university policies, and signs sure aren’t doing much.
Letter to the Editor – Crime on Campus and What You’re Not Being Told
We’ve all heard it from President Nancy Zimpher, University of Cincinnati Police Chief Gene Ferrera, Cincinnati Police Chief Colonel Thomas Streicher, and other political officials - crime is going down on The University of Cincinnati and in the surrounding community while claiming they have the figures to prove it. That may be what they say and claim, but this frankly isn’t the case.
Crime data from 2007 is only available up to October, and at first glance at the number of serious crime seems to be going down. What these officials haven’t said is that when taking a ten-month average from 2006 of serious crimes on all 4 University of Cincinnati campuses the serious crime rate is actually up. Using the available data from the University of Cincinnati Police department, there were 416 serious crimes from January 2007 to October 2007 (which is the only data available at the moment), and 457 in all 12 months of 2006. We still have two months to go in 2007, and we’re only 41 incidents away from matching last year’s numbers. In fact, a 10-month average from 2006 shows a gain of nearly 36 incidents of serious crime in 2007 on The University of Cincinnati’s four campuses. Cincinnati Police Department District Five shows a similar tale, with serious crimes nearly neck and neck for 2007 when compared to the ten-month average from 2006.
It’s time that University officials face the music. Crime is not down nearly 35% like President Zimpher said during her 2007 State of the University address. It is the same, if not worse, and students still are not allowed to have any defensive items on them if they are in accordance with University of Cincinnati policies. It’s time to change this and let the students take responsibility for their own safety, as neither the University itself nor the two police departments can do the job. I know that help phones, university policies, and signs sure aren’t doing much.
