Thursday, November 29, 2001

University crime stats to be online
By James Zwilling
Staff Reporter

A new program by the U.S. Department of Education will enable students considering any of the nation’s 6,269 colleges, universities and career schools to view college crime statistics online at (http://op.ed.gov/security).

TCU Police have reported their crime statistics on their own Web site for a couple years, TCU administrative Sgt. J.C. Drake said.

Drake, who posts the statistics to the TCU Web site, said the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to move the figures online is just another trend to publish information on the Internet. He said TCU has been putting its statistics online not just because it is required, but also because it helps prospective students.

The Web sites report everything from burglaries and stolen vehicles to sexual assaults and rape. According to the Department of Education’s Web site, the 2000 statistics have not been studied to produce a national picture of crime trends on college campuses.

“(Reporting statistics online) is easier for students, colleges and folks who are looking at the university to find out what is going around our campus,” Drake said.

TCU Detective of Criminal Investigations Kelly Ham said reporting statistics on the Web site can also help the TCU Police do its job better by giving people an idea of what is happening on campus.

“For one thing, it’s important to know what crimes are happening and where. For another thing, its a good resource for people who are looking at the university,” he said.

Ham said he thinks the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site is a great idea because is allows students and parents to compare schools.

“If you continue to check these Web sites you will be able to continue comparing the data from several universities,” he said. “I think our department does a good job and we’re happy we can put these statistics online.”

Campuses nationwide are required by law to collect and disseminate campus crime statistics, and last year the federal government created the centralized Internet reporting system for the information.

The U.S. Department of Education compiled the data which represents alleged criminal offenses reported to campus security and do not reflect prosecutions or convictions, the Web site states.

James Zwilling
j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu