PDF: Crime on Campus 2007

Even with increased students populations, UTC and Chattanooga State had fewer acts of serious crime on-campus in 2007, a fact students say could be related to the jolt colleges received after the shootings at Virginia Tech in April 2007.

“A lot of it stems from the Virginia Tech incident,” said Bill Staley, Student Government Association president at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “At a lot of campuses that was a wake-up call.”

The overall count of serious offenses at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga decreased by 15.1 percent from 2006 to 2007. Similarly, serious on-campus offenses at Chattanooga State Technical Community College decreased by 18.8 percent in the same period, according to a report by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations released Monday.

Crime did not decrease in every area — one more sexual offense and 10 more assaults occurred at UTC last year, along with two more thefts at Chattanooga State — but the overall count of serious offenses at local schools declined, according to the report.

UTC and Chattanooga State’s crime statistics reflected the statewide dip — 12.6 percent — in on-campus crime in 2007, according to the TBI report.

Beefing up security was a major effort for four-year and two-year institutions last year in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, said Robert Ratchford, chief of police at UTC.

Much of the work will continue into 2008, he said.

“I feel good,” Chief Ratchford said. “I feel confident in the programs we have. We want to keep this hopefully on a downward trend. Any crime is too much.”

A number of new security cameras are being added at UTC Place Apartments, a residence for students, and the school implemented an alert system that sends students a cell phone text message in the event of a campus emergency, Mr. Staley said.

Also, the presence of security personnel is felt more by students, he said.

Four more security personnel and one police officer were added to the campus staff in 2007, Chief Ratchford said.

“We have more people, more officers in residential areas,” he said.

Along with an increased security presence, Chief Ratchford said students are more alert about crime and offering tips to the university police.

“I think there are just more eyes and ears out here at the university,” he said.