The Nevada Sagebrush

A rise in cases connected to the University of Nevada, Reno makes students and police alert

• A guide to personal safety
• Graphs comparing crime from recent years

To the university community, the disappearance of 19-year-old Brianna Denison is another case to add to the list of crimes affecting the University of Nevada, Reno this year. But while it is causing anxiety among students and community members, police say to keep the crime rise in perspective.

Beginning with the murder of professor Judy Calder last August and the shooting resulting in the death of student Derek Jensen and two others in October, students said this is something they haven’t seen during their time here.

“It makes me leery of my surroundings,”said Korrie Vance, a 22-year-old dietetics major who’s been attending UNR for four-and-a-half years.

Another student, Alex Dussaq, said he thought the crimes during the past months have been shocking.

“It keeps happening, but I’m glad the university is keeping us informed,”said Dussaq, a 19-year-old biochemistry and mathematics major.

UNR Police Chief Adam Garcia said the recent crime rise was bound to happen with about 20,000 students and faculty.

“UNR is a big part of this community and crimes do happen to people who are associated with the university,”Garcia said. “It just happens.”

But while the number of crimes affecting the university seems to have grown, Garcia pointed out that none of the crimes have taken place on campus – both Calder and Jensen’s murders occurred at off-campus locations.

But Denison’s disappearance, as well as two other sexual assault cases, happened in a neighborhood a few blocks away from campus.

The number of reported violent crimes – which includes murder, rape, robbery and assault – on campus have been minimal, according to reports released by UNRPD. The most reported violent crimes that UNRPD dealt with were 20 in 2004, while the smallest number of reported violent crimes on campus was 5 in 2003.

Those same crimes fluctuate between 1,200 and 1,500 from 2001 to 2006 in the surrounding Reno area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice. In Nevada, the number of violent crimes has grown from more than 12,000 to more than 18,000 from 2001 to 2006.

“Our campus is relatively safe,”said Garcia. “When the university and the real world interact, it catches people by surprise.”

Laura Piette said she believes the university is safe, but she only feels uncomfortable late at night when she’s walking around campus after classes or work.

“I try to take precautions and be wary,”said Piette, a 19-year-old nutrition major.

Shannon Ellis, UNR’s vice president of student services, said she believes campus is a safe place because students are aware of their surroundings.

“We have an incredibly well-educated student body about staying safe,”Ellis said. “The message we’re really trying to drive home right now is we need to take care of one another.”

Steve Frady of the Reno Police Department said that a number of factors need to be considered before people can call the crime rise abnormal.

“Reno is a tourist destination, so the weekend population goes up,”Frady said. “Areas around the university are also major transportation hubs, with the interstate, a rail line and a bus station close by.”

Garcia said comparing the university’s crime to the surrounding Reno area and Nevada could not be done accurately.

“Reno and Nevada has a vast population in a much larger area, so more crime is expected,”Garcia said.

He also said that crime at different universities can’t be compared.

“It just can’t be done,”Garcia said. “The crime at UNR wouldn’t be the same as a college of the same size that’s next to a cornfield. It also wouldn’t be the same if it’s being compared to a college in L.A.”

Garcia said UNRPD, with 28 officers on the force, plans on increasing the number of emergency call boxes around the campus. Last semester, the department received about $100,000 to install more boxes, which students can use to reach the police if they are in danger. Garcia said the department is still looking for more funding and hopes to have the boxes installed by the end of the spring semester.

Currently, the boxes can be found in the parking garages around campus.

“I don’t know if that will change the statistics, but I do think they will enhance safety,”Garcia said.

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