The number of burglaries occurring at Mississippi State University declined sharply from 2003 to 2004.
Five burglaries occurred on campus in 2004, according to the annual crime report published by the MSU police department. In 2003, 46 burglaries occurred on campus.
Furthermore, one motor vehicle theft occurred in 2004, down from four in 2003, and the number of on-campus aggravated assaults declined from one to zero.
A total of six crimes occurred on campus in 2004, the report said, down from 52 in 2003.
All colleges and universities in the United States are required to publish annual crime reports under the Clery Act passed in 1990. The act is named after Jeanne Ann Clery, who was raped and murdered in her room in a residence hall at Lehigh University in 1986. Her murderer was able to gain access to her room by proceeding to three doors that had been propped open but were normally locked.
Mississippi State University beat out universities in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference for lowest crime rate. The University of Mississippi experienced 12 on-campus crimes in 2004: one forcible sex offense, one aggravated assault, six burglaries and four motor vehicle thefts, Ole Missܬs Clery Report said.
The University of Alabama experienced 27 on-campus crimes in 2004, including 38 burglaries. The University of Arkansas reported 35, and Auburn University reported 43.
MSU crime prevention coordinator Marcelo Mango said the campus police keep crime down through education and communication as well as through measures such as increased lights in parking lots.
The department also began programs to provide escorts to people who need to walk to their cars after dark, one program based in residence halls and another based in the library. The students who serve as escorts also make rounds outside and around the library.
Mango credits the decline in crime to education. ܬPeople are becoming more aware,ܬ he said.
He said students should not leave doors unlocked. ܬIf you give a criminal the opportunity to commit a crime, heܬs going to do it,ܬ he added. ܬWeܬve been fortunate so far. This is a relatively safe campus.ܬ
In the Clery report, the university reports anything that happens to students or faculty on campus or on campus property, he said.
Freshman communication major Dees Murphy said she feels safe during the day, but at night, the level of safety she feels depends on where she is.
ܬIf Iܬm walking to the library, I donܬt feel very safe at all,ܬ she said.
She feels unsafe because of the lack of lighting, and she always walks with somebody else, she said.
Murphy said she feels safe at night in the parking lot of Ruby Hall, where she lives, and she always feels safe while in Ruby Hall.