Bucks Safety and Security
released the 2008 security report,
showing theft and vandalism as
recurring trends over the past
three years, while violent offenses
are non-existent on campus.
The report, which details all
offenses from 2005-07, includes
statistics for violent crimes such
as assault, arson and robbery, as
well as figures for non-violent
offenses such as drug possession,
disorderly conduct and forgery.
Available for all students from
the Security office, it also
includes information on programs,
safety practices and policies
pertaining to reporting
emergencies at Bucks.
The report’s statistics are compiled
from official Safety and
Security incident reports,
Student Affairs reports, applicable
police reports and college
officials with responsibility for
student activity.
“We do catch the people
responsible,” said Christopher
Lloyd, director of Safety and
Security. “We may not have 100
percent success rates, but we do
catch people.”
The most common offense was
larceny or theft, of which there
were 80 occurrences in the last
three years, with 31 reported
incidents in 2005 alone.
However, the report shows a 30
percent drop in theft between
2005 and 2006, and the decrease
remained constant in 2007. Some
of the items that have been stolen
include electronics such as
iPods, as well as credit cards
taken from student’s wallets and
purses. Textbooks become the
target of theft around the end of
the semester when the bookstore
is buying back books from students.
Lloyd described theft as a
crime of opportunity, and that
the best deterrent is for students
to keep their personal belongings
on them at all times and not
leave them somewhere where
they might be stolen.
Fortunately, there has only
been one case of robbery in the
last three years, occurring in
2006. By definition, robbery is
the act of taking something from
one’s person by use of threat or
force.
There have also been 10 cases
of burglary in three years.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program,
burglary is the unlawful entry of
a structure for the purposes of
committing larceny or theft and
any attempts at those actions.
From six cases in 2005, there
has been a decrease to only two
cases each in 2006 and 2007.
Recently, Bucks saw a case of
burglary when unlocked cars in
the parking lot were opened and
the perpetrator took as many
items as they could. The person
responsible was caught.
A positive statistic that the
report shows is the lack of violent
crime on the Bucks campus.
“The number one reason that
there is no violent crime is that
there is no residency on the campus,”
Lloyd stated. He pointed
out that at schools where students
live on campus; the rates of
violent crime are much larger.
“People come here, go to class,
then leave,” he continued.
The only violent crime on the
list was a few cases of assault.
Lloyd said that those incidents
were just fights, nothing that was
life threatening.
He added that an assault is
anything that involves physical
contact, which can range from
spitting on someone to a fist
fight.
Another high-ranking offense
was vandalism, which saw a
sharp increase in 2007 from previous
years. Relatively low in
2005 and 2006 with a total of 23
incidents, last year saw a startling
61 incidents of vandalism.
An example of a case is where a
student was arrested by the
police for 12-13 counts of vandalism.
Lloyd said that most of the
vandalism was graffiti in the
restrooms, often done using a
magic marker.
“It’s hard to monitor,” he stated,
adding that the bathrooms
can’t be monitored because of
privacy.
“The best thing we can do is to
remove it as quickly as possible,”
Lloyd said. He said that most
people vandalize for notoriety,
and by removing it quickly, it
negates the purpose that they set
out to accomplish.
Lloyd said that vandalism
actually hurts everyone on campus
because of the cost to remove
it.
The money used to clean up
the vandalism comes from student’s
tuition, and the more that
they have to spend, the higher
students may have to pay.
Other offenses include disorderly
conduct, of which there
have been 28 cases, eight in both
2005 and 2007, and 12 in 2006.
In three years, there has only
been one case of a drug-related
violation. According to the
school’s drug policy, such violations
would include illegal possession,
manufacture, distribution
or use of drugs or narcotics
by students. In this case, the
authorities were not involved
because of the miniscule amount
of marijuana that was involved.
The policy details a 1972
Pennsylvania law that dictates if
one possesses or distributes 30
grams of marijuana but does not
sell it, they are guilty of a misdemeanor
which can be punishable
with a maximum of 30 days in
jail, a $500 fine, or both.
On the Bucks campus, these
kinds of violations are taken very
seriously, and those who are in
violation are referred to the
Judicial Affairs Office for disciplinary
action. Punishments can
range from a written warning to
the extreme act of expulsion.
Over the last six-to-nine
months, Bucks has put in place
many procedures to make the
campus a safer environment.
There is a campus-wide alert
system that includes external
and interior horns to alert people
to emergencies. In addition,
there is a text messaging system
that students can sign up for,
where they can arrange for two
cell phones and two e-mail
addresses to be contacted in the
event of an emergency.
Each classroom should have a
flyer in it that lists all of the shelter-
in-place locations on the campus
as well as information about
how to receive emergency information.
Faculty members have also
undergone emergency
training. Upper
administrators have
undergone National
Incident Management
Systems (NIMS) training
to prepare them for
any emergency that
may arise. According
to the FEMA website,
this program was
developed so that people
from different
jurisdictions can work
together better in
responding to natural
disasters and emergencies,
including terrorist
acts.
The program provides
a unified
approach to incident
management, command
and management
structures, and
emphasis on preparedness,
mutual aid, and
resource management.
Active shooter protocols
have been
updated as well, which
helps students and faculty
know what to do in the
event of a gunman on campus.
The emergency preparedness
manual has also been revamped.
In addition, the Digital Signage
project, which involved the
installation of flat-screen monitors
on campus to provide students
with information, is also to
be used to notify personnel
about emergency situations on
campus.
In addition, television and
radio stations are alerted as well
if there is an emergency.
The Office of Safety and
Security operates 24-hours a
day, staffed by 14 full-time
and 13 part-time officers who
patrol the campus and are
responsible for security and
emergency response on campus.
The officers supplement the
communications center operations
and operate special
events on campus.
The campus also coordinates
with the police if necessary.
Students can pick up a copy
of the 2008 Annual Security
Report at the Safety and
Security on campus.
In case of an emergency call
Safety and Security at (215)
968-8395.