In recent months, the Georgetown community has experienced a downward trend in crimes on campus and in surrounding neighborhoods.
Department of Public Safety crime reports indicate that incidences of theft, by far the most common crime on campus, exhibit a cyclical pattern, picking up during the fall and spring months and declining during winter and summer. However, there have been fewer thefts this fall compared to last year. While the DPS crime log reports 37 thefts in October of 2010, this month has only seen 14 so far.
According to DPS Associate Director Joseph Smith, DPS has increased patrol numbers on campus in recent months, in addition to increasing personnel in investigations and crime prevention efforts. The bike patrol program has expanded to 15 certified patrol officers.
“We feel that bike patrols greatly increase our deterrence through greater visibility and improve our mobility and response time considerably,” Smith wrote in an email. “When criminals notice this seemingly ubiquitous presence, they are less apt to commit crimes here since they may feel that their chances of getting caught have increased.”
Students say they have noticed the increased DPS presence.
“Especially when walking home late at night, I frequently see DPS officers on campus and in the neighborhood,” Shantel Jairam (MSB ’15) said. “It definitely makes me feel a lot safer.”
DPS has worked with the Metropolitan Police Department off campus to secure additional patrol officers in the West Georgetown and Burleith neighborhoods.
“Since the inception of these patrols, there has been a noticeable decrease of street crimes in the campus periphery,” Smith wrote.
Crimes of vandalism and bias could also have been deterred by increased DPS presence. While in August and September of 2010, there were a total of six reported cases of biased or racially motivated crimes, such as the drawing of swastikas, this semester has seen none of these types of crimes.
Still, students express concerns about off-campus safety, especially after the recent report of a “forcible fondling” on S Street.
“It’s definitely concerning, especially because it happened in broad daylight,” said Connor Gilbert (SFS ‘15). “We still have to be constantly vigilant about living in a city.”
DPS has also expanded liaisons with GUSA and the LGBTQ Resource Center. Last Thursday, DPS worked with the Georgetown Bookstore to give an information session to students about preventing laptop theft and securing personal information in the case of theft. Every Saturday, DPS offers a Rape Aggression Defense course to female students, staff, and faculty members, which teaches self defense techniques.
Smith asserts that in comparison to other neighborhoods and the greater D.C. area, the crime rate for Georgetown University has remained relatively low.
“Over the past several years we have worked hard to help make the University a safer place for our campus community,” Smith wrote.
