The suburban, tranquil atmosphere at
Bucks conveys the illusion that you could
probably walk away from your backpack
and books for a few hours and they would
be there when you returned.
Don’t try it.
Statistics released by Security and
Safety show theft is the most common
crime on campus. “Most thefts are crimes
at opportunity,” said Chris Lloyd, Security
and Safety director. “They’re not
really looking to steal anything but then
someone walks away from their things
and they take advantage of it.”
From 2004-2006, a total of 72 acts of
theft occurred at Bucks campuses, about
27 thefts per year during that three-year
period.
The number of thefts doubled between
2004 and 2005 and dropped slightly in
2006.
About 90 percent of these incidents
occurred at the Newtown campus. Lloyd
said the chances of the stolen property
being recovered is pretty slim, but sometimes
the perpetrator is caught.
According to the statistics, over the past
three years, 146 crimes were reported: 72
were theft, 10 were burglary and one was
robbery. That means 83 out of 146 reported
crimes were related in some way to
stealing, an astounding 56 percent.
The statistics only reflect those thefts
that are reported. Some people don’t even
bother to notify Security & Safety
because they feel that chances are, they’re
not going to get their stuff back.
Lloyd said usually things like cell
phones or iPods are taken, but occasionally
someone will walk off with something
bigger such as a book-bag or a purse.
Book-bag theft is an an additional slap in
the face, because not only have you lost
any valuables in your pack but also all of
your text books and notes.
Not only do you have to buy new books
to replace your missing ones but your
notes are gone, and that can hurt with midterms
coming up.
The next biggest crime at Bucks is vandalism;
27 of the reported crimes were
related to students defacing public property.
Vandalism tends to be a nuisance too.
“Most of that is graffiti, sometimes
something gets broken but
not often,” said Lloyd. However
it generally doesn’t cost students
anything, and unlike theft, it
doesn’t leave people with that
angry, sulking feeling, as well as
that question, “Why me?”
Disorderly conduct has been
on the rise, more than quadrupling
from 2004 to 2006. It
includes activities such as fighting,
making threats, causing
unreasonable noise and vulgar
language or gestures. Pretty
much anything that will distract
students from their educational
activities or endanger students
and faculty or any way, shape, or
form.
Whether Bucks can remain
relatively crime-free remains
uncertain. Security and Safety’s
crime statistics report can be
found online at:
http://bucks.edu/security/SecurityReport.
pdf