• Publication: The Atlanta Journal / The Atlanta Constitution
• Author: Gary Hendricks, Staff Writer
• Original Publication Date: Monday, September 14, 1992

Students at Georgia’s five state universities have a one in 100 chance of being involved in a serious on-campus crime each year, according to new statistics.

The federal Campus Security Act, which took effect this year, requires colleges to report crime statistics to the state. Georgia’s state colleges reported last week that nearly 800 serious crimes occurred in 1991 on the campuses, which have a total of 81,000 students.

“I was really pleased that they started to report it, because I feel there’s a false sense of security on campus,” said Michelle Ozzimo, a University of Georgia senior.

The crimes covered nine categories ranging from murder to alcohol violations. The total crimes reported were 333 at Georgia Tech; 332 at University of Georgia; 67 at Georgia Southern University; 41 at Georgia State University; and 20 at Medical College of Georgia.

Burglary was the leading crime (300) followed by alcohol abuse (248 incidents), the statistics show. No on-campus killings were reported; UGA and Tech each reported one rape, and Georgia Southern had two.

The statistics do not include off-campus crime, but they do tend to reflect campus environments. For example, students living on urban campuses run a higher risk of assault, while students in smaller communities see more property crime.

Off-campus crimes not listed

Tech led the other schools in aggravated assaults, robberies and motor vehicle theft — three crimes common near the city campus, noted Tech security chief Jack Vickery.

“I still feel the campus is pretty safe,” said Alex Nash, a Tech senior. “I go jogging late at night on campus. But it’s pretty stupid to go off campus.”

But students are becoming more street savvy, Mr. Nash said.

“My best security system is to have something nobody would want to steal,” he said.

The new reporting system reminds students and their parents of the need to check out crime rates not only at the school but in off-campus neighborhoods, UGA Security Chief Chuck Norton said Mr. Vickery agreed. “The crime patterns on our campus pretty much follow the crime patterns of the Atlanta metropolitan area.”

The off-campus April slaying of UGA student Jennifer Lynn Stone of Roswell underscores the need to be aware of crime patterns in and around campuses, Ms. Ozzimo said “It’s scary for that to remain unsolved, and it really upset this community,” she said. “Still, I know a lot of people around here who answer their door by saying ‘come in.’”

Ironically, the most urban of the five schools, Georgia State, which is in Downtown and the second largest of the five schools, reported the least number of serious crimes — 41 — versus more than 300 each at Tech and UGA But Georgia State has no dormitories and students are mainly commuters, said Chief Jim Dearing. “Our deal is to [have campus police] try to present as much of a high profile as we can,” he said.

Crime on campus

Campus enrollment and on-campus crime figures in 1991 at Georgia’s five state universities as reported under the Campus Security Act:

– University of Georgia (28,691 students): murder, 0; rape, 1; robbery, 7; aggravated assault, 5; burglary, 73; motor vehicle theft, 42; liquor-law violations, 186; drug offenses, 15; weapons possession, 3.

– Georgia Southern (13,411): murder, 0; rape, 2; aggravated assault, 1; robbery, 2; burglary, 18; motor vehicle theft, 4; liquor violations, 34; drug offenses, 6; weapons possession, 0.

– Georgia State (24,024): murder, 0; rape, 0; robbery, 5; aggravated assault, 0; burglary, 29; motor vehicle theft, 5; liquor violations, 0; drug offenses, 1; weapons possession, 1.

– Georgia Tech (12,814): murder, 0; rape, 1; robbery, 21; aggravated assault, 10; burglary, 173; motor vehicle theft, 98; liquor-law violations, 28; drug offenses, 1; weapons possession, 1.

– Medical College of Georgia (2,457): murder, 0; rape, 0; aggravated assault, 2; robbery, 3; burglary, 7; motor vehicle theft, 7; liquor violations, 0; drug offenses, 1; weapons possession, 0.

Source: Associated Press