BOOZE, BIKES AND BLUNTS

Bike Thefts and Drug and Alcohol Violations Have Risen Steadily On Campus
and Around the Community

Thefts, drugs and alcohol -- that's what campus crimes are made of.

According to the Department of Public Safety crime statistics for 1999
through 2001, the most prominent violations in the University community are
bike theft and drug and liquor law offenses.

DPS reported a steady rise in bike thefts, from 123 in 1999 to 184 in 2001,
with total thefts climbing from 419 in 1999 to 485 in 2001. The Eugene
Police Department reported 727 bike thefts citywide in 2001, 12 percent of
which were in the West University neighborhood. Due to the "cyclical
nature" of bike thefts, DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said the present
statistics demonstrate a peak in the crime rate and, with any luck, a
decline soon to come.

"We saw a steep increase in bike thefts in the mid-'90s," he said, "and
it's on the rise again."

The reported recovery rate for bikes through DPS has been between five and
seven percent historically, and 2001 was no different. The total loss value
in stolen bikes reported citywide to EPD in 2001 was $306,818, with a 12.8
percent recovery rate.

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to make a big enough impact on those
statistics," Hicks said, adding that the Hamilton and Bean complexes are
two of the biggest targets on campus.

But freshman Bean resident Kelly Brown said she doesn't blame the University.

"With the huge number of bikes on campus, there's only so much DPS officers
can do," she said.

Last term, Brown helped stop a suspicious individual from tampering with a
friend's bike at the rack located outside Bean East. She said the best
precaution students can take against bike theft is to invest in a good lock.

"Locking your bike with a cable is just asking for it," she said.

University Planning, Facilities Services and DPS are combining efforts to
eventually provide more secure bike parking alternatives to students,
particularly surrounding the residence halls, Hicks said. Added expenses to
students and limited space are expected to hinder the progress of settling
on a design; however, more ideas are intended to be tested on campus within
the next few weeks, he said.

Besides theft, DPS also reported a rise in drug violations from 28 arrests
in 1999 to 105 in 2001, which is dwarfed by EPD's 2001 figure of 2,929
drug-related arrests citywide. The EPD definition of a drug violation
covers a variety of offenses, including possession, sale, furnishing,
cultivating (marijuana), manufacturing (opium or heroine), obtaining
unlawfully and tampering, EPD spokeswoman Carrie Delf said.

Although the DPS definition covers the same range of violations, Hicks said
at least 95 percent of reported offenses involve possession of less than an
ounce of drugs.

"A joint or two is typical," Hicks said of the frequency of marijuana
confiscations.

A major factor in the rise of drug violations is the increasing number of
residents willing to call in and complain about odd smells or mischievous
activity, he said. The decreasing amount of student tolerance also reflects
a better level of awareness within the University community. When the
number of drug violations reported at on-campus housing facilities
quadrupled between 1999 and 2000, Hicks said the entire campus noticed, yet
the cause was not clearly defined. "Perhaps more students from that
particular (freshman) class came in smoking pot and figured they could get
away with it," he said.

DPS Liquor Law violations spiked from 72 arrests in 1999 to 198 in 2000,
and dropped slightly to 190 in 2001. Hicks said the rise was partly due to
the assignment of two DPS officers who assisted in residence hall rounds
and enforcement in 2000. The relatively sustained number reported in 2001
reflects a significant rise in violations off-campus -- from one in 1999 to
42 in 2001 -- which includes Riley and Barnhart halls as well as all greek
houses.

"It's a combination of greater enforcement and a few large parties held on
greek property," he said, adding that 2002 will undoubtedly reflect an
increase in alcohol-related offenses.