2008 Woodie Awards
University hopes incident forms will help police
By Jesse Duncan
Rocket Copy Editor
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: News
The most up-to-date crime statistics for SRU can be found on the Web site in the University Police section under the Cleary Act link. There is also a copy of the incident report form online on the Crimestoppers link in the same section.
Nicole Viccari, 26, graduate student, child and adolescent track, said, "I feel it's a good idea to have the written report from witnesses, now that it's available online more students will feel at ease reporting it."
The story behind the Cleary Act is that it was named after Jeanne Cleary, a student who was raped and killed in her resident hall of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. in 1986.
The school did not report the event as it felt that the perpetrator would be alerted of the investigation.
As the Cleary Act requires that campuses nationwide report their crime statistics, the incident report form works to gather the necessary information.
According to the Cleary Act, this should include crimes such as arson, burglary, motor vehicle theft, drug- or liquor-related violations, aggravated assault, sex offenses, murder, manslaughter, and robbery.
Any crimes should be reported to the Police Department, and forms can be obtained from the SRU Police Chief Windy Stafford as is urged in the e-mail.
Some students feel that the form does not necessarily fit the urgency of the situation.
"If I see a crime, I would be more likely to call the police than to worry about getting the form filled out," Kristin Adam, 20, sophomore biology major, said.
Greater knowledge of the form is also pointed to as an area where students could gain more benefit.
"If this form best suits the interest of crime reporting, it should be made more readily known to the students," Caleb Cragle, senior biology major, said.
The setting also needs to be taken into consideration, Smith said. The campus is located in a rural area, which could compare differently to an urban setting.
However, Smith has confidence that the University Police are prepared for the task. The police department is very well trained and would make the highest efforts involving safety, Smith said.
Nicole Viccari, 26, graduate student, child and adolescent track, said, "I feel it's a good idea to have the written report from witnesses, now that it's available online more students will feel at ease reporting it."
The story behind the Cleary Act is that it was named after Jeanne Cleary, a student who was raped and killed in her resident hall of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. in 1986.
The school did not report the event as it felt that the perpetrator would be alerted of the investigation.
As the Cleary Act requires that campuses nationwide report their crime statistics, the incident report form works to gather the necessary information.
According to the Cleary Act, this should include crimes such as arson, burglary, motor vehicle theft, drug- or liquor-related violations, aggravated assault, sex offenses, murder, manslaughter, and robbery.
Any crimes should be reported to the Police Department, and forms can be obtained from the SRU Police Chief Windy Stafford as is urged in the e-mail.
Some students feel that the form does not necessarily fit the urgency of the situation.
"If I see a crime, I would be more likely to call the police than to worry about getting the form filled out," Kristin Adam, 20, sophomore biology major, said.
Greater knowledge of the form is also pointed to as an area where students could gain more benefit.
"If this form best suits the interest of crime reporting, it should be made more readily known to the students," Caleb Cragle, senior biology major, said.
The setting also needs to be taken into consideration, Smith said. The campus is located in a rural area, which could compare differently to an urban setting.
However, Smith has confidence that the University Police are prepared for the task. The police department is very well trained and would make the highest efforts involving safety, Smith said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Keith
posted 11/30/07 @ 1:12 PM EST
Great, just what we need. More people informing police so they can give out even more underages and disorderly houses.
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