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The Safety Subcommittee of the DeKalb Safe/Quality Housing Task Force released a report on statistical analysis of crime and nuisance offenses in DeKalb. The subcommittee consisted of Brett Brown, Ed Wilcox and Herb Rubin. It’s comprehensive and should provide solid information for the professionals to make improvements in public safety and reduce personal safety threats.
The report will not accomplish the goals as stated by Wilcox and Rubin. Wilcox does believe that less crime is a goal of the Task Force but says the report was not created to answer that question. According to Wilcox: “[The report] was created to help fight against the misinformation of those who would have us believe that DeKalb is an unsafe place to live, and that crime is rampant. It is not.”
Rubin expressed similar sentiments and believes the final report should be used in part as a marketing piece.
The FBI cautions local chambers of commerce, government agencies, planning offices, or similar entities against using its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics for comparables for marketing purposes.
From the FBI UCR website: “For example, one city may report more crime than a comparable one, not because there is more crime, but rather because its law enforcement agency, through proactive efforts, identifies more offenses. Attitudes of the citizens toward crime and their crime reporting practices, especially concerning minor offenses, also have an impact on the volume of crimes known to police.”
The American College Health Association (ACHA) Campus Violence White Paper (Carr, 2005) noted that there are often questions about the accuracy and completeness of college crime data, because colleges are motivated to present a favorable image in order to recruit students and attract donors. The same might be asked about a study created to “help fight against the misinformation.”
The DeKalb Statistical Analysis of Crime and Nuisance Offenses (Brown, Wilcox, Rubin) could be a catalyst for the Task Force reaching its goal of less crime. The public now has access to hard data about their neighborhood. That should feed neighbor-based prevention programs that are known to be effective. It should help parents discuss safety issues with their children.
If the report helps the Task Force in reducing crime it would reduce the need for marketing and become a catalyst for economic and community development. It would enhance the relationship and experience between the community and the university.
Goals for the report to “counter the sensationalism of the two [SIC] horrors that did occur” in DeKalb are more insensitive than realistic. If reporting crime is sensationalism then all communities short of Utopia are in trouble. To add constructive ideas perhaps the Task Force would consider naming the report after the victims of those horrors.
The “Jeanne Clery Act” is named in memory of 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Ann Clery who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986. Her parents discovered that students hadn’t been told about 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law in 1998. The Clery Act requires colleges to publish annual crime statistics for their campuses.
Cliffs notes from the report…
Crime in the City increased disproportionately with population growth from calendar year 2000 to 2010. During this time population increased 11% and overall crimes reported increased by 21.6%. The difference was primarily due to increases in major motor vehicle offenses. Excluding major motor vehicle offenses, the volume of reported crime increased only 0.8% for the period.
Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Part I crimes include theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, aggravated assault/battery, robbery, criminal sexual assault and homicide. The volume of these crimes decreased 17% between the years 2000 and 2010, resulting in a rate 31% lower than might have been expected with increased population.
UCR Part II crimes include seventeen types of offenses, ranging from battery and drug offenses to disorderly conduct and motor vehicle violations. The volume of these crimes increased 28.0% between the years 2000 and 2010, resulting in a rate 19.1% higher than might have been expected with increased population, but the disproportionate increase for the category resulted from substantially disproportionate increases in major motor vehicle offenses.
When major motor vehicle offense data is excluded, the volume of Part II crimes increased only 6.4% for the period, less than the population increase.
When major motor vehicle offense data is excluded, the rate of Part II crimes decreased 5.2%.
Personal Safety Threats
The most prevalent personal safety threats in the city were: domestic issues (36.1%), followed by battery (23.1%), and phone threat/harassment (20.1%). Together, these three most common threats represent more than three quarters of the 979 personal safety threats city-wide.
The seven neighborhoods with the highest rates of personal safety incidents accounted for 49.7% of personal safety threats city-wide but contain only 22.1% of city population. The University Village neighborhood with 3.3% of city population accounted for 13% of all personal safety threats.
While battery is the city’s second most prevalent personal safety threat, none of the seven block groups with the highest overall rate of personal safety threats had either the highest volume or rate of battery offenses. The Newer Student Apartments neighborhood had both the highest number and rate of battery offenses city-wide.
Quality of Life Threats
The most prevalent quality of life threats in the city were driving-related (19.4%), followed by audible disturbances (15.2%) and suspicious activity/person/vehicle (10.8%). These three offense categories represent nearly half of the 9,940 quality of life threats city-wide.
The five neighborhoods with the highest rates of quality of life incidents accounted for 42.6% of quality of life threats city-wide but contain only 24.1% of city population.
The University Village and Newer Student Apartments neighborhoods stood out in the analysis. The University Village neighborhood contains 3.3% of city population but accounted for 7.4% of quality of life threats. The Newer Student Apartments neighborhood ranked first or second in volume and/or rate of quality of life threats for all incident types except animal issues, non-violent domestic trouble, driving-related and suspicious activity/person/vehicle.
Conclusions
The subcommittee found overall city crime rates to be low-to-average for Illinois communities hosting a major public university. The number of reported crimes increased disproportionately in comparison to the increasing population, due primarily to disproportionate increases in major motor vehicle offenses. Excluding major motor vehicle offenses, the volume of reported crime increased only 0.8% for the period.
Despite increasing city population, UCR Part I property crimes decreased between 2000 and 2010. Part I violent crimes increased slightly more than might have been expected based on the population increase.
Neighborhoods with the highest rates of either personal safety threats or quality of life threats experienced incidents at rates disproportionate to their share of City population. The University Village and Newer Student Apartments neighborhoods stood out in statistical analysis of neighborhood incidents, but personal safety and quality of life concerns exist in other neighborhoods, to varying degrees.
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12 Comments
A heavily armed tactical unit cleared my previous place of employment on 2/14. Although I am now totally annoyed by helicopters from that day and the bomb threat the week afterward, ‘thanks’ to all the news organizations, that one incident does not bother me nearly as much as all of the smaller, petty crimes, and drug dealers that we have in town.
But, no one has the right to downplay what 2/14 did to employees who are still around, although many of the students already graduated. For a short period of time, it was thought there was a shooter loose. Some of the employees hid in their offices, some under their desks with the lights out, in fear until well past 6:00 p.m. that day. They got the warning but with all the chaos, not everyone got an all clear so they could go home. I was in a meeting–they told us to close the curtains because there was a shooter loose outside. I initially thought that because it was Valentine’s Day that it was due to some boyfriend-girlfriend quarrel, of course that was totally wrong. I shut the curtains and told another employee to turn off the lights so no one could see inside. Others started screaming. Others froze in place and had to be coaxed into evacuating to the top floors as we were told. Across campus, others who walked past Cole Hall heard the gunshots and ran away. There were employees who feared for their lives that day who still live in this town. Some of them continue to take vacation days on 2/14 and completely leave town because they want to stay away from reminders of that day. Some needed counseling for PTSD–one only has to fear for one’s life to get that, not actually get shot.
Back to what bothers me more than the chances of another spree shooter. Several of my neighbors’ vehicles got broken into. So do I fear leaving my vehicle outdoors? Yes, although anyone breaking into my car will be severely disappointed with my taste in music and probably will not steal any of my CDs but would cause damage to my car in the process. That would jack up my insurance and that of the neighbors, thanks to clever actuaries. I do not leave anything of value in my car in visible sight. I seriously doubt anyone is going to break in to get to my collection of somewhat broken umbrellas in the back seat.
Do I fear that someone will break into my house while I am not home? Yes, far more than another mass shooting taking place. Why? Because I can think of four other break ins and two home invasions in my neighborhood in recent years.
Did my apartment get broken into before I had a house? Yes, in two different apartment complexes.
Did my car ever get vandalized? Yes, twice, when I had it in places near Greek Row.
Do I fear the cops will arrest someone in front of my house? Yes, because that already happened twice before. At least the cops caught both alleged criminals. Who needs to watch “Cops” on TV when I can just look out my picture window?
Do I fear all the meaningless vandalism jacks up my insurance rates as well as everyone else’s? Yes, because I hear about other people whose cars got damaged and I am tired of such as waste of money, although I am sure the insurance companies love it.
Do I fear that more NIU students will be mugged, jumped, robbed, and hurt while walking around Greek Row at night? Yes, because that kind of less sensational crime keeps happening again and again. The police did arrest the ‘face muggers’ a couple of years ago but there were others who tried the same tactic, working in twos or threes, one approaches the victim then another hits him or her in the head or face, and mugs them. One female NIU student maced one of those guys–good for her.
I finally had it with living in an apartment from all the drug dealers ‘advertising’ their ‘business’ by blasting music at all hours of the night, running their vehicles outside an apartment, waiting for someone to come out, making an exchange, and then leaving. Someone got arrested in the laundry room in the apartment complex, the laundry room I used, and was charged with murder that he allegedly committed elsewhere. The cops found him hiding in the laundry room. He was an alleged drug dealer. I bought a house to get away from all that.
I have life experiences that are burned into my memory stronger than anyone’s statistics or report.
If you are sincerely going to market DeKalb positively, then those doing the marketing should at least learn to spell the city’s name correctly. It is spelled D e K a l b, not
D e k a l b.
Really? Can’t come up with a real criticism?
Yes, anything but DeKalb is a spelling error.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am a fan of the Safe/Quality Housing Task Force, its independence and its work.
But I have a concern with the release of the data and the subsequent blog discussions and that is potential mission creep.
This is the Safe/Quality Housing Task Force. It’s supposed to be about recommending actions and policies that make DeKalb better for all.
It’s not supposed to be about marketing. Marketing is the purview of the Community Enhancement Commission.
Please, TF, don’t get distracted by our image problems. Stick with substance.
Not to worry, Lynn. The purpose of this report has already been achieved. The TF has never discussed marketing in any way at any meeting.
understanding (sorry)
Mac
You do have a way with words.
Just to be clear and to complete my thought just in case any one reads your comments:
1. Yes, I hope the report acts to help the image of the city as it shows that crime is no different here (perhaps a bit better) than in other college towns.
2. The aggregate hard data shows that the horrors of the Cole Hall incident and then the Park murder are terrible exceptions and not typical patterns.
As with any data report, results are no better, nor worse than the raw police data. But no tinkering, distortion changing of any numbers was done to make a point.
You are being willful in your insistence that because aggregate data contradicts (admittedly horrible) incidents that somehow the data are distortedy by intent. That is a base calumny though consistent with your perspectives..
To move away from Dekalb with a different type of example. Take airplanes, after a plane crash. We all are upset and panicked (and people do reduce flying). Official data is then brought out to show that on a per passenger mile basis flying is safer than driving. That data is meant as a rational response to the very understandable people feel after a plane crash. Yes, that data is meant to reassure. But just because that data belies the fears does not make it wrong.
There is some real irony here in this exchange that started with an article in the DC.
Out of respect for community members, I blogged early on that the crime report was now available on line so that people could make up their own minds. And, of course, you already had.
The victims of the “Cole Hall incident” were sophomore Gayle Dubowski, an anthropology major involved with her church; sophomore Catalina Garcia, active with the campus’ Latino Resource Center; junior Julianna Gehant, who had served in the Army; sophomore Ryanne Mace, an honors student who planned to work in counseling; and sophomore Daniel Parmenter, who tried to shield his girlfriend. Antinette ‘Toni’ Keller, a gifted and creative student, was the victim of the “Park murder.” In addition, Steven Agee, Jr., a senior, was set to take off in his career when he was fatally shot at an off campus party and today marks the 5th anniversary of the disappearance of Brad Olsen.
Your statement: “You are being willful in your insistence that because aggregate data contradicts (admittedly horrible) incidents that somehow the data are distortedy by intent.” is a deliberate lie as is your pattern to mislead the public for the political games you play. Not one word from me here or on the DC indicated that I thought the data was distorted in any way. My position is and will remain that attempts to sanitize the worst losses a parent can suffer by using crime statistics for marketing will fail in that purpose. Packaging crime statistics as a marketing piece destroys the credibility. The FBI and the ACHA agree.
As clearly stated I think the report should be used to assist in the goal of less crime. That is my perspective.
No one is trying to sanitize anything. Your posting of the names of the Cole Hall shootings and other high profile crimes shows that you are more interested in fear and sensationalism than in the facts about crime. The loss felt by the parents and families of these victims is no less than the loss felt by the parents and families of the victims that don’t get into the paper or on the national news. For you to use them to further you own agenda of misinformation and fear mongering about the crime in Dekalb is an insult to the families of the victims.
You accuse Herb of deliberately lying, but it is you who are deliberately misleading. Herb, and the rest of us, are trying to combat the fear mongering of people like you by showing that a few aberreant act does not define Dekalb. You would have us ignore the facts based on the existence of a couple of sensationalized crimes. Truth is, if no one chose to report about those crimes, they would be nothing more than additions to the statistics. Pull out the emotions, and they become exactly that. Once they are considered on the same level as all the other crimes, we start to see that Dekalb is, indeed, no worse than anyother community of comparable size.
Doesn’t matter what the FBI and other angencies suggesst, this is how we chose to use the data. That does not make it less valid.
Ed: No one is trying to sanitize anything.
Ed: Truth is, if no one chose to report about those crimes, they would be nothing more than additions to the statistics.
I’m just saying…
Ed, sometimes we agree. Sometimes we don’t. I’ve noticed the sun rises the next day in either event.
You’ve never really asked but so you know I don’t think its less safe in DeKalb than in any other community. I don’t think we live in a safe world right now so I’ll parrot what the professionals in security tell anyone, anywhere… be aware and report suspicious activity proactively.
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heey slick you missed it. This report is engineered to promote the old nuisance ordinance issue. Plain and simple. The gestapo is alive and well in DeKalb.