UNLV stats support community policing

Friday, Sept. 29, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

Critics of UNLV's aggressive policing methods say annual crime statistics released today that indicate little violent crime occurs on campus are a strong sign that friendlier, community policing is the answer.

However, a spokesman for the union that represents campus police officers say the statistics are "bogus" because they don't take into account a large number of crimes.

Ron Cuzze, president of the State Peace Officers Council, says the crimes are not reported to police to keep the statistics down.

UNLV had 105 crimes in 1999 in nine federally mandated categories, down from 114 in 1998, the school's report says. Also, UNLV had 105 arrests for liquor, drug and weapons violations, down from 111 in 1998, the report says.

Perhaps the most alarming statistic is that rapes, mostly of the date variety, climbed from one in 1997 to three in 1998 to six in 1999, according to the report filed under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990.

Clery's slaying at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania led to Congress mandating the reports that are used in part by families to determine whether it is safe to send their children to a particular college. All colleges that receive federal funding are required to report their crime statistics by Oct.1.

The UNLV report shows that there are only significant numbers of crimes in the two nonviolent categories -- 69 burglaries and 21 car theft, which combined, accounted for 90 of the 105 major crimes reported in 1999.

There were no murders, negligent manslaughters or nonforcible sexual offenses, only four robberies, one aggravated assault and four arsons. The school is not required to report misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors or other types of felonies -- things that keep cops busy.

"While these statistics are too incomplete to determine whether UNLV needs a force of 25 (state certified) police officers, they do show that there is not an inordinate number of violent crimes committed," said Gary Peck, executive director of the local American Civil Liberties Union.

"The statistics do support the community policing model that UNLV Police Chief Jose Elique is trying to establish -- a model that encourages public safety, crime prevention and community service over the hook and book policing some of the officers want."

Cuzze, a police officer who supports the more hard-line, by-the-book approach to policing at UNLV, said the report does not take into account unreported crimes.

"There are more than six sexual assaults on the campus -- the report is bogus," he said. "The dorms don't report all of the crimes and I can tell you from experience the incidents are not contained by a boundary -- they are subject to a criminal element from outside the campus."

Elique said school officials are careful in compiling the statistics that are reported annually to the U.S. Department of Education in accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's uniform crime reporting program because each error or omission can result in a fine of $25,000.

He said he is pleased with the statistics because they support his effort to, despite protests from Cuzze and "a small but vocal" number of other officers, to have his charges concentrate more on the campus and less on stopping motorists along Maryland Parkway and Flamingo to issue traffic citations.

To that end, he has disbanded the motorcycle and plain clothes divisions at the school and increased bicycle patrols and cops walking the campus to create a stronger uniformed presence to deter campus crime.

"We will be more service-oriented," Elique said, noting that the majority of rapes that were committed in 1999 can be prevented by better education on awareness.

"A number of these rapes share common factors -- they took place after the woman allowed the man into her dormitory and later got taken advantage of," Elique said.

UNLV had student populations of about 20,300 in 1997, more than 21,300 in 1998 and nearly 22,400 in 1999.

Cuzze said the statistics released today by the Community College of Southern Nevada, which is protected by security guards, more accurately reflects the bottom-line problem he says exists.

Cuzze claims UNLV wants to get rid of its police force and replace it with security guards that do not file criminal charges to give a false impression that no crimes are being committed.

The Community College announced today that at its three local campuses and satellite education centers, only 10 major crimes were committed last year -- all auto thefts. That is up from four auto thefts in 1998. Also, the community college had no arrests for liquor, drugs or weapons either year.

In fact, school officials say, that since 1985 only 52 major crimes have been committed -- all auto thefts.

"That is what I have been saying all along -- you get rid of us and you get rid of crime statistics," Cuzze said.

"When we go to the scene of an auto burglary, we file a criminal burglary report. When a security guard goes to the scene, he says you're car has been broken into -- call your insurance company. There is no statistic."

UNLV officials deny Cuzze's claims saying that if a crime is committed it counts as a statistic, whether it is investigated by a security guard, Metro Police officer or a certified state police officer.

Community college officials say that its friendly and effective security system is responsible for its lack of crime at its West Charleston Boulevard, Cheyenne Avenue and Henderson campuses.

"Everybody looks out for everybody at CCSN," said the school's spokesman John Kuminecz, noting that its security firm works closely with police agencies, including Metro and departments in North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Laughlin, Mesquite and Pahrump.

"People are treated as part of a closeknit community. We offer 24 hour security on well-lighted campuses with walking patrols and video security -- exterior and interior."

CCSN, now in its 30th year of operation as a two-year college, has seen its student population grow from 10,000 in 1985 to 35,000 in 1999 -- including a leap of 15,000 since 1995, Kuminecz said.

Another reason for the low major crime numbers, Kuminecz said, is that unlike UNLV, the community college has no dormitories, and thus no residents to either commit or be potential victims of crimes.