The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A drop in crime in the borough might be the result of a stricter code of conduct at Penn State University, police said.
Police Chief Tom King on Thursday said that between July 2001 and June 2002 the borough saw a 21 percent drop in serious crimes, including rape, assault, arson, burglary and theft, and a 12 percent drop in lesser crimes, including drug violations, DUI and public intoxication.
Those statistics stand out against a statewide drop of 6.1 percent in serious crimes and 8.5 percent in other crimes.
“I think there could be a correlation between the university’s Office of Judicial Affairs receiving all student arrests in the borough and the decline,” King said. “Otherwise, we can’t explain why we have a 21 percent decline.”
Penn State changed its student conduct code in recent years to put greater emphasis on off-campus incidents. Beginning in fall 2001, the borough began to forward all criminal complaints involving students to university officials.
King said the most common question asked of officers when students get in trouble is whether the university’s Office of Judicial Affairs will be notified.
“That concerns them more than the amount of the fine or the possible loss of their driver’s licenses,” King said.
Police from neighboring Patton and Ferguson townships do not automatically refer criminal complaints to the university, but both are planning to.
“If the students know they will be held accountable by the university, they will be less anonymous than they were in the past,” said Ferguson Township Police Chief Ed Connor. “It won’t take long for the word to go out.”
Paul Cronin, town affairs director for Undergraduate Student Government, said some students resent the policy, which they see as an invasion of their privacy.
Joe Puzycki, judicial affairs director for the university, said the policy change was meant to make students aware of their place in the larger community.
“We’re not trying to establish a Big Brother status. What we’re trying to do is have students be good citizens in the community,” Puzycki said. “This is about defining and clarifying standards for good citizenship.”