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Duke releases 2009 Clery crime report

by Zachary Tracer on September 22, 2009

in Crime, Student Life

The Duke University Police Department has released campus crime numbers for the 2008 calendar year in its annual Clery Security Report, as required by the federal Clery Act.

Duke University 2009 Clery Security Report

The number of robberies reported decreased from seven in 2007 to two in 2008, while the number of reported aggravated assaults increased from three to six. The number of reported burglaries decreased from 65 to 51 and the number of reported motor vehicle thefts decreased from 19 to seven. The number of forcible sex offenses was five, the same as in 2007.

DUPD officials were not available to comment on the report Tuesday.

Reports of crimes committed on and immediately adjacent to Duke’s campus by or against any individual (not just students and staff) are included in the Clery Report, which institutions of higher education are required by federal law to publish each year by Oct. 1. The report excludes incidents that happen away from campus, such as the January 2008 murder of graduate student Abhijit Mahato.

Also included in the report are the number of arrests and referrals made to campus disciplinary authorities for three categories of offenses: liquor law violations, drug law violations and illegal weapon offenses. Referrals included in the report do not come only from Duke Police, but may also be made by residential staff and others.

Ten people were arrested for illegal weapons possession, down from 12 in 2007, and one person was referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

For violating alcohol laws, 320 students were referred to the Office of Student Conduct in 2008, up from 301 in 2007. Ten students were arrested, up from seven in 2007.

Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said she was unaware of any policy changes by Duke Police or Residence Life and Housing Services that may have contributed to the increase in alcohol violations.

“My hope is that what these numbers reflect is also a wider and longer safety net, either with students calling in things or with community members making us aware of their concerns about students drinking too much or using drugs,” she said. “I don’t think you can assume that these numbers are going up because there is a different level of enforcement.”

Violations of drug laws led to 32 referrals and 20 arrests, up from seven and 17 respectively in 2007.

Those increase might have been the result of Residence Life and Housing Services standardizing some of its procedures for dealing with suspected illegal drug use, said Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life.

At the start of the 2007-2008 academic year, RLHS put more emphasis on instructing residence assistants to call Duke Police if they suspected illegal drug use. Additionally, RAs were told to write and submit incident reports on all illegal drug use discovered to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

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Two North Carolina ALE firearms unaccounted for

by Julius Jones on September 13, 2009

in Crime, Durham News, North Carolina Politics

Two of the high-powered assault rifles belonging to the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement are missing, according to a story in The (Raleigh) News & Observer today. The ALE is the only state agency, including the State Highway Patrol, that provides every officer with an high-powered assault riffle, despite the relatively few situations ALE officers encounter where deadly force is needed.

“Wow, I didn’t know they had those,” State Sen. Ed Jones, a Democrat from Enfield who is a retired state trooper, told The News & Observer in an interview. “I’m sitting here trying to think of a good reason to justify why ALE would need that much firepower, but I’m having some trouble.”

Read the article in today’s News & Observer here.

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Duke students drink, get naked, get caught

by Zachary Tracer on August 30, 2009

in Crime, Student Life

As the year begins, before work piles up, Duke students have a lot of free time on their hands. Different Dukies do different things to fill the hours, most of which don’t make it on to a police blotter.

But sometimes, Duke students get drunk. And when they do, they don’t always make the best choices.

In the latest instance of drunk Duke student shenanigans, Duke Police found an intoxicated student sans clothing (yes, naked) in McClendon Commons around 9 a.m. Friday. According to the police report summary, an officer escorted the student back to his room.

Ten days earlier, Duke Police discovered a naked intoxicated student passed out near the Fitzpatrick Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and Applied Sciences, which students know as CIEMAS, at 2:12 a.m. No word on what the student was doing over there so early on a Tuesday morning. The student was taken to the hospital.

Sometimes, however, drunk naked Dukies are a bit more active. Have a look at this police report from April:

“I witnessed two subjects running from the Kilgo Quad area towards the Bus Stop. The male subject was completely naked with the exception of his hat and holding his boxers in his hand. The female subject was wearing only underclothes. The two stated that they had been at an unknown room in Kilgo Quad playing beer pong and had lost the game and as a result had been asked to run to the bus stop naked.”

When the officer encountered the students, he “asked the male subject to please put on his boxers,” the report states. After getting the students’ information, the officer let them go and get dressed.

The two did not get off scot-free. The students were not arrested, but a Dean was advised of the incident, the report notes.

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Senior shot during robbery still in hospital

by Zachary Tracer on August 11, 2009

in Crime

A Duke senior robbed at gunpoint over the weekend remains in the hospital and no charges have been filed in the case, a Durham Police Department spokesperson wrote in an e-mail today.

It is now unclear what kind of gun was used in the robbery. The Chronicle originally reported that the student was shot with a pellet gun, based on a a Duke press release. Durham Police, however, say they do not know what kind of firearm was used.

Duke University Police Department Maj. Gloria Graham said she does not know how the weapon was identified in the Duke press release, but that information provided by the Durham Police Department is “the most up to date and accurate,” because DPD is handling the investigation.

Duke and Durham Police may pay extra attention to the area where the attack occurred, near the intersection of Trinity Avenue and Watts Street, when they increase patrolling during the first two weeks of school, Graham said, noting that this area of the Trinity Park Neighborhood is not a “hot spot” for crime. In 2009, there have been five robberies (including this one and the armed robbery of a Duke student in April) and one assault within a quarter-mile of the intersection, according to DPD Crime Mapper data.

As the investigation into Saturday’s attack continues, leaders of the communities affected by the violence have been reaching out to their residents. The Trinity Park Neighborhood Association is holding a meeting tonight with DPD to discuss the crime and neighborhood safety, The Durham Herald-Sun reported.

Meanwhile, undergraduates received an e-mail today about the armed robbery from Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. The message was intended to have been sent Sunday to all graduate and undergraduate students.

“Last night, sometime after midnight, a student was assaulted as he was walking back to his apartment”, Moneta wrote in the e-mail. “The assault took place on Watts Street near the intersection with Trinity Ave. It has been reported that the assailant had a weapon which was discharged in the struggle. Though the student was injured, he is expected to fully recover.”

In an interview with The Chronicle, Moneta said a computer problem—possibly caused by a mistake he made in sending Sunday’s e-mail—prevented undergraduates from receiving it, though graduate students got the notice. He apologized for the delay in today’s email.

Because Moneta’s e-mail was written Sunday, before more accurate information was available, it cites an incorrect time for the incident. The armed robbery actually occurred just before midnight Saturday, DPD Public Information Officer Kammie Michael said Monday (The original DPD press release said the attack occurred Sunday).

Moneta’s e-mail also includes general safety tips for students, many of whom will be returning to campus next week for the Fall semester:

1. Avoid risky behavior. Don’t walk alone at night or in unfamiliar areas. Avoid alcohol and drugs. Stay with people you trust.

2. Be alert, walk confidently and make eye contact. If someone has negative intentions, making eye contact might deter them because they realize you can identify them.

3. If you’re being followed, go to the nearest populated, well-lit location and call 911. Do not go home. If you’re walking, cross the street away from the person and go somewhere such as a convenient store. If you’re driving, you can go to the Duke Hospital emergency room or Duke Police headquarters at 502 Oregon St.

4. Report suspicious activity immediately. Trust your instincts. If you see a person who isn’t typically in your area of campus and they’re acting suspicious, call Duke Police at 684-2444 or dial 911.

5. Do not leave personal property unattended. Laptops, backpacks and purses, or cell phones are easy items to steal. What they contain is difficult to replace.

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LIVE BLOG: Durham and Duke Police speak at graduate meeting

by Zachary Tracer on April 16, 2009

in Crime

And that’s a wrap. Brought some cookies back to the Chronicle office for the staff. Look for the full write-up tomorrow.

6:34: Had a chance to ask Capt. Smith about demands placed on police by Trinity Heights party house complaints.

“I run about anywhere from 7 to 9 patrol cars to cover my entire district. So at any given time, there is probably not a car in Trinity Heights. We’re running everything from a larceny call, to a wreck to a crime in progress. When someone picks up my phone and says there’s a loud party over here—does that get a police resp? Yes. I would not say it has increased patrol in that area. Has it increased a perception of a problem in that area? Yes, it has.”

6:19: Dailey says students should take the initiative and use Crime Mapper and other resources to investigate housing before they decide where to live. DPD can’t tell people that some areas of Durham are more or less safe than others.

6:03: DPD officer recommend Crime Mapper for tracking crime in Durham. Williams says students should follow crime on the DUPD website. Dailey also mentions using Twitter or Facebook to get out information.

5:51: DPD generally reports crimes committed against Duke students to the University, Capt. Smith said.

5:36: There are four students here, including myself. The meeting is being held outside BioSci 111. Attendees include: Larry Smith, DPD district 2 commander, John Peter, DPD district 3 commander, Dave Williams, crime prevention manager for DUPD, Dean Sue, and several student affairs staffers.

5:32: Officials from the Durham (DPD) and Duke (DUPD) police departments are scheduled to speak at a townhall meeting for graduate students this evening. According to an email from GPSC President Alethea Dunca, DUPD Chief John Dailey will be at the meeting along with commanders from Durham police districts two and three. So far, there are no graduates in the room for the 5:30 meeting, but at least one person is setting up food outside.

While waiting for the meeting to start, why not learn more about Dailey from this Chronicle Q&A?

Or perhaps you’re interested in reading about a scam artist who targeted graduate students and other residents, raising concerns about safety-related communication between graduate students and University administrators.

The security concerns of graduate students were also thrust into the spotlight last year after the slaying of graduate student Abhijit Mahato.

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