In each issue of The DePauw, we publish a section titled "Campus Crime."
We fill this section each Tuesday and Friday with the misdemeanors, thefts, alcohol violations and vandalism that-however unfortunate they may be-take place on campus each day.
For the sake of transparency, this Editorial Board would like to ensure that our readers fully understand where we get this information.
Almost every day, Public Safety updates its "Activity Report," which here in the newsroom we call the "crime blotter." The Activity Report can be found by going to the Office of Public Safety's page on the DePauw University website. This report includes the time and date each incident was reported, the time and date each incident occurred, the location of the incident, the incident itself and how the incident was handled.
In The DePauw's Campus Crime section, we include four of these five categories, only excluding when the incident was reported.
For the most part, we include every item listed in the Activity Report in our Campus Crime section, exactly as it is written. However, for some of our issues, due to spacing, we will not print all incidents. This will often mean the omission to print the fact that five different fire alarms were falsely pulled over a given weekend or that some fraternity or another had another noise complaint.
We are not alone in our printing of a crime section. The Banner Graphic includes its own, which can be found by visiting their website, scrolling over their "records" tab, and clicking on "Police/Fire."
For even more information about crime in any given area, it is always possible to contact local authorities and ask for recent incidents of note. All reported crimes are public information, so police and fire departments should be willing to share what they know with any community member looking to be more informed.
Our goal, as it always is, it to ensure that the news reaches the student body. This includes updating students as to what crime is occurring on the campus we all share. With the recent influx in reported incidents, including attempted break-ins to residence halls and greek buildings, theft of game consoles, bicycles, etc. and general vandalism, it is more important than ever to stay informed about what crimes are taking place.
So read the emails from Angie Nally, director of public safety, read The DePauw's Campus Crime Section and-perhaps best of all-read the Activity Log in its entirety. Crime is public information for a reason. As the public, the information is ours for the taking, so take it.
