Page 6-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursday, September 5, 1991 Police say crime stats don' by Tami Pollak Daily Staff Reporter The numbers don't speak for themselves. While FBI reports of increasing numbers of rapes andjlarcenies in Ann Arbor might scare students into adding martial arts lessons and tear gas to their pre- college shopping lists, both Ann Arbor police and University Department of Public Safety (DPSS) officers say the numbers often prove more threatening than the criminal element itself. 'For example, with rape statistics, when people riad that, they think of the man jumping out of the bishes and attacking a woman," said Ann Arbor 'Detective Douglas Barbour. "While that does happen, 'the majority of the rapes around here are date rapes - which are still a crime, and just as terrifying - but which are not what you walk around in fear of at tiight," Barbour said. But Barbour was sure to point that Ann Arbor is note Trust-a-strangerville, U.S.A., either, as he said nmany students will learn that within their first half- hour in the city. '"The most thefts involving students occur during moving-in time. People forget to lock their car or their door, and before they've even spent their first night at college, their stereos or computers are gone," Barbour said. "You're not in little hometown America. You don't know the people, you should lock everything and .usecommon sense." ..P"Get an anchor pad for your computer, or some kind of;security advice, and engrave your driver's license number on expensive belongings," stressed DPSS Sgt. Vernon Baisden. "Even when you get to know the ,people around you in the hall, during the day, people -car get into the dorms or students from other halls walk around just looking for unlocked doors or 'unattended property in libraries or at the CCRB (Central Campus Recreation Building)." However, while a little bit of luck and adherence to Bdisden's advice seems like sufficient preventive action ffir most of the crimes recorded on' daily city police 'rdpdrts, from apartment burglaries to bicycle thefts to "lather jacket rip-offs at fraternity parties, sexual agsdult still remains one of the most frightening and widespread problems in an Ann Arbor. "t'm most worried about her walking around alone t night," said Carole Miller, mother of incoming t add up As far as the long walks home students often face, especially when returning from late weekend night parties, students' options aren't as easily accessible aA they are at many universities. While Safewalk, a student-run organization, provides a free coed escorted walks throughout the week, both this facility and the University-run Nite- Owl van, which has periodic pick-ups all over campus,. stop service before 3 a.m. "I really don't have an answer about what to -do after that time," Baisden admitted. "I wouldn't necessarily say do not walk alone at night, but if you're- going to be out after dark, try to be aware of your surroundings and take precautions - walk down. lighted streets or near areas with emergency phones." And while many parents see a canister of Armyi surplus store tear gas as a smart extra precaution for this kind of situation, both Barbour and Baisden were wary of the option. "It's always possible to be overpowered and have it used against the victim," he warned. Throughout the past few years, the University has placed extra emphasis on improving lighting and accessibility to emergency phones to help lower night- walking incidents. Central campus now has about 40 emergency kiosk telephones directly connected to the DPSS office so, once picked up, without the caller saying anything, DPSS computers locate exactly where the caller is and dispatches officers. Baisden added that just recently, the University phones have been put on a 911 system. "That means anyone dialing 911 from a campus phone (a phone in a1 dorm room or in a campus building) directly connects with DPSS." From a pay phone or private line, however, the number the DPSS phone number is.763- 1131. However, Baisden stressed that while all the focus on self-protection and cautionary measures may make Ann Arbor seem a mecca for rapists and robbers, things are not that much different than in most students; hometowns. "You also have to remember that anything can happen anytime, anyplace," Baisden said. "The University of Michigan is a great place to go to school and generally a safe one. You just have to use common sense and take a few extra precautions." MHEAT IHR LUWMAN/Uaily A Safety Belt Enforcement Unit pulls over another unsuspecting traffic delinquent, possibly for not buckling up. Meanwhile, other crimes, such as rape and assault, continue to rise in Ann Arbor. first-year student Nicole. "I just keep stressing that she should not walk around alone." According to FBI reports, Miller's fear is not ungrounded. Since 1989, the numbers of forcible rapes in Ann Arbor has increased by 17%, a rate nearly double the national average for large cities. Furthermore, both police and counselors at the University Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) further emphasize that these statistics only reflect the number of reported rapes. "So what we may be seeing is an increase in the number of survivors reporting rapes. The actual number of rapes each year is even higher," said SAPAC's director, Julie Steiner. Nationally, however, the FBI still maintains that 90 percent of rapes go unreported and that one out of three women will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. Coupling those statistics with the population of a university town, said Barbour, helps explain Ann Arbor's soaring sexual assault rates. "Any university town has a high incident of sexual assaults because there's a high concentration of victim- aged women," Barbour said, pointing out that rapists have traditionally been attracted to university towns because the nature of a campus invites women often to walk around unescorted. While Barbour's rape-prevention advice again centered around common-sense measures like staying in well-lit areas at night, trying not to walk alone, and planning trips in advance to ensure that self- jeopardizing situations won't arise, he also recommended more foresightful prevention techniques. "Pay attention to who and who doesn't live in the dorms and call University security if you see someone who shouldn't be there, because if they're there, they're there for a reason, and it's not just to visit," Barbour said. SMITH Continued from page 4 Smith later graduated from M&ropolitan State University in St.-Paul with a degrees in criminal justice and human resource devel- opment. He earned many of his un- -dergraduate credits at the Univer- -sity of Minnesota. Although Smith said he will miss the relationships in Minneapo- lis, he said he will look forward to his role as chief. "It's a surprising transition," the 43-year-old Smith said. "I've got 20 years on that job already, and do I want to be 50 with 30 years as a Y deputy chief or some other civil ser- vice rank? It became clear, especially after going to the FBI academy, that I wanted to continue on and become a chief executive someplace." Several weeks ago, Smith circu- lated surveys throughout the Ann Arbor Police Department which asked employees what they saw as the department's goals, challenges, and needed changes. "They all spent a lot of time and were very matter-of-fact," Smith said. "They didn't pull any punches. They told me what I wanted to hear ... what I was looking for - not what I wanted to hear." One issue that has been discussed recently is the possibility of form- ing a citizen review board. The im- petus for this comes mainly from a group of Univoisity students who asked city officials for such a board, after police used Mace to break up a sorority party in December. Smith said he believes the de- partment should handle its internal investigations. "I would like to spend some time working with the officers on any internal review because I feel like I have some ideas about some better communication skills and so forth needed to probably reduce the number of attitude, language and demeanor complaints, which gener- ally are the most prevalent in this job," he said. Smith added that he has re- quested a lieutenant's position to handle these types of complaints. Another issue Smith faces is re- lations between Ann Arbor police and the University's newly depu- tized police force. The city and the University recently came into a dis- pute over enforcing marijuana fines at the annual Hash Bash. Because the University insist to enforce the state fines higher than the city's $25 pot law, city officials decided - on the day before the Hash Bash - to withdraw Ann Ar- bor police from the main campus. "My hope is that in the future we can work out these arrangement ahead of time," Smith said. Smith said he would also like to establish strong relationships be- tween the police and the commu- nity. "One of the things that came out of the surveys ... was that there was r Police Chief Doug Smith came from Minneapolis to tackle the crime problems of Ann Arbor. Smith, who took over the job in May, must figure out the best way for his force to work with the University squad.. x I Welcome Back Blondes, Brunettes and Red Heads! *Over 50 imported and domestic bottled beers *Choose from our international selection of draft HAIR& NAIL Haircuts ms Full Nail Service iveau SALON Custom Hairstyling a perception that the community and the department needed to get closer together," Smith said. "Right now, maybe the only existing tangent where the two come together would be meeting at 911 calls or calls for police service. "What we're looking for is a much more ongoing interactive in- teraction with neighborhood groups, with individuals, with or- ganizations. And there's an educa- tion process on both sides that needs to happen before that can occur." i Relaxers Spiral Perr Wave Nou T Mcg DyRye Do You? 312 Thompson St. (near corner of Liberty) 995-5733 i-beers. 0 0 Restaurant * rPub * w - 338 S.State t. M-Sat.11:30 am 1- 2:00 am 1 i t { 44 s7 S 2 WHAT ME WORRY? kx. z ' a The Great Wall Restaurant Specializing in Sze-Chuan, Hunan and Cantonese Best New Chinese Restaurant in Ann Arbor 1988 & Best Oriental Restaurant in Ann Arbor 1989 --The Michigan Daily's Weekend Best Take-out 1990 -- The Ann Arbor News 1220 S. University . 747-7006 At S. Forest across from The Village Corner Easy parking - Next to City Parking Structure .Free Parking After 6 pm- mm" -- i i 9 ., _ .. ._ n- n C3 10 \GAAZN S Ybawiflfnd the Simply stated, our col. iafarmxtive and iectinof atmagzine is the.muu uineNin.t the i.v.w..land most NOT A CHANCE WITH i