More: Burglary Prevention Tips

Report on burglary prevention in the University District
February 8, 1999

Law enforcement and public safety agencies, university offices, students, business and property owners, and neighborhood leaders participated in a comprehensive burglary prevention program in November and December 1998 in the University District neighborhoods which surround the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University. Burglaries in the University District normally increase substantially during the holiday break between autumn and winter quarters when thousands of students leave the area for home or other destinations. A key result of this comprehensive burglary prevention program was that reported burglaries in the area were cut in half when compared to the previous year. The program also widely distributed burglary prevention information to the public, improved interaction between students and police, and enhanced cooperation among law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Background to the burglary prevention program

Columbus Police Sgt. Terry Perrigo, who oversees second-watch patrols in the Fourth Precinct, in late February 1998 proposed that the police conduct a "burglary special" in the neighborhoods around Ohio State during the university's spring break, March 22-28. The Fourth Precinct, which encompasses almost the entire University District, is bordered by Seventh Avenue/King Avenue on the south, Arcadia Avenue on the north, the Conrail tracks on the east and the Olentangy River on the west. Sgt. Perrigo had noted that burglaries rise during spring break when students are gone.

Sgt. Perrigo organized the "burglary special" using plainclothes officers from the Patrol Bureau to watch for burglaries and other crimes in progress in the predominantly student neighborhoods during spring break. He contacted Steve Sterrett, community relations director of Campus Partners, about community participation. (Sterrett serves as staff for the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee, which has met regularly since 1995 on crime and safety issues.) Sterrett developed a brief flyer with information about burglary prevention. Columbus Police officers and patrollers with the Community Crime Patrol distributed several thousand flyers door-to-door in the student neighborhoods in early March. In addition, a simple burglary prevention message was sent by university's electronic mail network to several thousand students living off-campus in the University District. During spring break, the Community Crime Patrol actively cooperated with the Columbus Police's enhanced patrols.

During the period of the burglary special last March, burglary reports declined to 34 compared with 40 during the same time period in 1997. In addition, officers made one felony arrest, eight arrests for misdemeanors and six arrests for misdemeanors on outstanding warrants. In addition, officers may have deterred crime by stopping and seeking identification from 95 individuals who were acting suspiciously. Police officers and community leaders were pleased with the success of the burglary special. They agreed to develop a comprehensive public awareness and burglary interdiction program with more advance planning for the holiday period at the end of 1998.

Planning for the comprehensive burglary prevention program

Campus Partners convened a meeting in August 1998 to begin the planning for the burglary prevention program. Subsequent meetings were held in October to plan the public awareness portion of the program. Participating in the planning were representatives of the Patrol Bureau and Strategic Response Bureau of the Columbus Division of Police, University Police, Community Crime Patrol (CCP), Campus Partners, University Community Business Association, University Area Commission, Ohio State's office of Housing, Food Services and Event Centers, and the student body.

The burglary prevention program had five goals:

1. Reduce the number of burglaries and related crimes reported in the University District over the holiday break, which ran from Saturday, Dec. 12, 1998, through Sunday, Jan. 3, 1999. (Autumn quarter commencement was Dec. 11. Winter quarter classes began Jan. 4.)
2. Send a positive message to residents and a warning to criminals that burglaries and other crimes won't be tolerated in the University District.
3. Encourage public awareness and understanding of burglary as a crime of opportunity and encourage citizens to take measures to prevent burglaries.
4. Encourage better relations between students and police as students see police officers taking proactive measures to insure students' safety and protection of their property.
5. Promote greater cooperation among Columbus Police, University Police and the CCP on crime prevention and interdiction.

Public awareness and education

Campus Partners coordinated much of the public awareness and education campaign with the cooperation of the other agencies and student volunteers. A committee of Ohio State students -- Laura Condos, Mark Hogan, Carl Rice and Jessica Weeks, a representative of Undergraduate Student Government -- met with Campus Partners staff to discuss the best ways to reach students with a crime prevention message.

Using the theme, "Crime doesn't take a holiday," Campus Partners produced a legal-size flyer with more extensive information about burglary prevention in the campus community and produced a small poster as a reminder of burglary prevention. The text of the flyer was written from existing crime prevention material with additional input from Columbus Police Sgt. Earl Smith and Bob Deis, safety committee chair of the University Area Commission. Some 12,000 copies of the flyer were distributed through all University Libraries, several other university offices, fraternities and sororities, and major property owners in late November and early December. In addition, the burglary prevention information was placed on the University Police and Campus Partners web sites. Campus Partners also wrote an electronic mail message on burglary prevention which University Technology Services distributed to some 8,000 Ohio State students with active electronic mail accounts living in the 43201 and 43202 zip codes. The brief message reminded students to take precautions before leaving for holidays and directed them to the University Police web site for specific information on burglary prevention.

Campus Partners staff organized a news conference on Nov. 9 to announce the public awareness and education campaign and the expanded "burglary special" over the holiday break. The master of ceremonies for the news conference was William H. Hall, Ohio State's assistant vice president for housing, food services and event centers and chair of the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee. Speaking at the news conference were Columbus Police Commander Paul S. Denton, University Police Chief Ron Michalec, Mark Hatch, executive director of the Community Crime Patrol, and Joshua Mandel, president of Undergraduate Student Government. Also participating in the news conference were Columbus Police Officers Mike Chapman and Scott Bray, who regularly go undercover to catch burglars; Columbus Police Lt. Jay Evans of the Strategic Response Bureau; and Mark Hogan, an Ohio State student who had participated in the planning of the burglary prevention efforts. The burglary prevention flyer and poster were distributed at the news conference. In addition, the police and CCP representatives explained their plans to work together to prevent burglaries in the second half of December when thousands of students had left the area. The news conference was covered by the three network-affiliated television stations, several radio stations, The Columbus Dispatch and the Lantern. News stories on the burglary prevention effort appeared on the front page of the Metro section of The Dispatch on Nov. 10 and in the Lantern on Nov. 24 and Dec. 3. The Lantern also printed a follow-up story, "Police report fewer burglaries over break," on Jan. 15.

Implementing the "burglary special"

Within the Columbus Division of Police, the Enforcement and Community Liaison sections of the Strategic Response Bureau (SRB) joined with the Patrol Bureau in the planning and implementation of the "burglary special." Columbus Police and University Police agreed to implement for the first time their mutual aid pact, which had been signed a couple of years ago. University Police Chief Ron Michalec assigned officers from his force to patrol with Columbus Police officers in the neighborhoods around the university during the second half of December when demands for service on campus were lessened. The trained, paid civilian patrollers with CCP also played an important role, in coordination with the police agencies, through additional patrols and attention to persons acting suspiciously. Mark Hatch, executive director of the Community Crime Patrol, emphasized that his patrollers were trained to watch for persons whose suspicious activities, not their appearance, warranted attention. Suspicious activities included cutting between houses, walking up on porches to try doors, and looking in car windows.

The coordinated patrols and activities of the "burglary special" ran from Friday, Dec. 11, 1998, through Sunday, Jan. 3, 1999. During that period, the Patrol Bureau contributed 160 staff hours from first watch, 416 staff hours from second watch, and 320 staff hours from third watch. The SRB Enforcement Section logged about 800 staff hours. University Police had six officers involved in the joint patrols and contributed 224 staff hours. CCP patrollers logged 954 staff hours.

Results from the "burglary special"

The "burglary special" ran from Dec. 11, 1998, through Jan. 3, 1999. Typically, there are many burglary reports filed with the police the weekend that students return to the area after the holidays. This year there were few reports filed. Columbus Police provided the following statistics on burglary reports in the Fourth Precinct week-by-week during that period compared with the year before:

On the first day of the "burglary special," Columbus Police officers, University Police officers and CCP patrollers followed an individual who appeared to be carrying bolt cutters and was acting suspiciously. Police officers then arrested the man on East 16^th Avenue in the process of stealing a bicycle. The man was charged with attempted theft and possession of criminal tools. In another situation, four men were arrested for breaking into a garage. The men may have been trying to steal empty beer kegs to obtain the deposit on the kegs. The patrols also resulted in the identification of two persons who are possible burglary suspects. During the "burglary special," the patrols completed field identification of a number of persons who were acting in a suspicious manner. This procedure helped to send a message to potential criminals that the University District was not a good place to practice their trade.

Music CDs and tapes often are taken during burglaries and auto break-ins in the University District. Police had evidence to suggest that some of these stolen CDs and tapes were being resold to music stores in the University District. Last summer Columbus Police and CCP talked with music store owners and employees about the problem. Under a city ordinance, dealers in used merchandise must ask for identification and keep a record of those from whom they buy goods. On Dec. 18, CCP patrollers followed a man acting suspiciously in the area of 16^th Avenue and High Street. The man went into a music store and attempted to sell CDs without identification. A police officer responded to the scene and filled out a field identification card on the individual. The store clerk was cited for failing to secure proper identification. On Dec. 21, CCP patrollers followed another man acting suspiciously in the area of 13^th Avenue and High Street. The man tried to sell two cases of CDs without identification at three area music stores. He then attempted to use another man to sell the CDs for him. At that point, a police officer arrested the first man for offering fictitious information. The second man was released. These actions -- and the cooperation of area music stores -- can cut down on the sale of stolen CDs and tapes and reduce the profit from the break-ins of students' apartments and cars.

Goals achieved and recommendations

The comprehensive burglary prevention program achieved its five goals.

1. The number of reported burglaries was reduced significantly.
2. Through the news media and field identification by police officers, a strong message was sent that burglaries and related crimes won't be tolerated in the University District.
3. The public was provided with burglary prevention tips through the wide distribution of informational flyers, through electronic mail and the University Police web site, and through the news media.
4. Students and representatives of Undergraduate Student Government were involved in the planning and public announcement of the burglary prevention program. This provided for continued interaction between students and police officers. Anecdotal information and some news reports indicated that students did appreciate the extra efforts made by the police to protect their property.
5. The program clearly enhanced cooperation among Columbus Police, University Police and CCP. Lt. Richard Mormon of University Police reported that the six officers who participated in the joint patrols with Columbus Police had enjoyed their experience and were willing to do it again. In a summary of CCP's involvement in the "burglary special," Mark Hatch, executive director of CCP, wrote: "We feel the teamwork displayed during this project demonstrates the power of community policing and directed patrol work." Columbus Police officers from both the Patrol Bureau and the Strategic Response Bureau expressed appreciation for the involvement of University Police and CCP.

At a meeting Jan. 27 to review the "burglary special," representatives of Columbus Police, University Police and CCP concluded that the burglary prevention program had been successful and should be repeated. They agreed to propose another "burglary special" be run March 18-28, 1999, during Ohio State's spring break between winter and spring quarters.

During the review meeting, the following points were made:

• Kenneth D. Hawsey, community liaison officer for the Fourth Precinct, reviewed the burglary reports for December 1998. He noted an unusually high number of forced entries. (Burglary often is a crime of opportunity with entry through unlocked doors and windows.) The forced entries indicate that many people were locking their apartments. Additional security measures might be needed. Residents and property owners should be notified that Officer Hawsey, upon request, will do a security survey of apartments and houses. Officer Hawsey can be reached at 645-1404.

• Officers observed a number of bicycles that were left outside or on porches and would be relatively easy to steal.

• Students should be encouraged to purchase renters insurance.

• CCP and University Police have engravers which may be borrowed to engrave a drivers license number or other identification on personal property. CCP will even come to a person's home and engrave property.

• Citizens should continue to be encouraged to call police about persons acting suspiciously.

• Citizens must be willing to cooperate with police and prosecute persons arrested for burglary and other crimes.

• The university should consider additional ways to reach students with crime prevention information throughout their college careers.

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