Thefts still plague UH-Manoa
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The amount of serious crime at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa is modest, according to new statistics, but theft continues to be a major problem on the state's largest university campus.
"In our whole state we don't have a lot of violent crime, but we sure get a lot of stuff stolen," said Donald F. Dawson, UH security officer. "We're the candy store for bicycles. They're the No. 1 hot item. There are probably more per capita (on campus) than anywhere else (in the state.)"
This is the second year that the U.S. Department of Education has filed campus security statistics of 6,269 colleges on the Internet. The reports, including information from all of Hawai'i's public and private institutions, are designed to be help prospective students as they review options for higher education.
In the latest statistics on campus security, UH-Manoa, which has 17,000 students, reported an increase in the number of forcible sex offenses from three to five between 1999 and 2000.
During the same period, Hawai'i Pacific University had one forcible sex offense and Chaminade University had none. Both universities are much smaller than UH.
Residence hall burglaries — part of the overall campus burglaries — jumped from 20 in 1999 to 42 in 2000 at UH-Manoa. None were reported at Chaminade and HPU last year.
"If the school is in a city with a lot of crime, you're probably going to get a lot of crime on your campus," Dawson said. "We're mid to low."
The U.S. Department of Education's Web site is massive and the amount of information can make it difficult to make comparisons among schools. The data reflect reported criminal offenses, but not prosecutions or convictions.
Dawson has statistics going back to the early 1990s, when car theft was a big security issue on campus.
"We went from about 16 thefts a year about five years ago to four this past year," he said.
What has jumped at UH is the statistical incidence of underage drinking, although the figures are greatly misleading, Dawson said. Disciplinary actions for liquor law violations went from 22 in 1998 to 258 in 2,000.
During that time the data-gathering went from casual estimates to full recording of every incident involving unauthorized drinking, Dawson said. That could mean that if alcohol was found at a party where there were 20 underage people, everyone would by referred for disciplinary action. Also, if only two students were disciplined, the official count would still be 20.
However, there is no disclaimer for the statistic indicating five students were arrested for liquor violations last year at UH. The arrest stemmed from an incident in which police set up a roadblock after receiving numerous complaints.
"Students were parking in the National Fisheries parking lot behind the East-West Center," Dawson said, "and carrying kegs across the street to the dorms."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
