Crime rate has a certain place in the brains and thought processes for the students and faculty of WT. Like anywhere else, people want to feel safe where they have to be for extended periods of time. If a person feels safe, they feel comfortable in their surroundings, thus making for a more enjoyable college experience.
Statistics show that over the past year, overall crime on campus has dropped. The question is if that is a result of a campus becoming a safer environment, or a lack of communication with the authorities of the campus and the students. It has always been documented that, generally, college students have a problem with authority figures. Though the same is not true for everyone, there are those that still have not acclimated themselves to the college atmosphere, and still have that immature side to them that does not want to associate themselves with authority figures such as the police, leading to some crimes going unnoticed or unreported.
The consensus with upperclassmen seem, to be that UPD are good guys.
“They’re good people,” Scott Cooper, senior and RA at Jarrett Hall, said.
“Crime has definitely dropped over the past year and last semester,” Stephen Bachmeier, senior Sports and Exercise Sciences major, said.
According to one UPD officer, he believes that the relationship between the officers and the students is good, but believes that some apprehension from students stems from where they grew up.
“Some students come here from small towns where they believe that the cops are jerks, and it isn’t like that here,” Aaron Price, patrol officer for UPD said. “I try to see how the students’ days are going all the time and be nice. Students need to realize that we’re just doing our job.”
Price also said that no reports by students will always be a problem, but the relationship with UPD and students is improving constantly.