By Jason Ethridge
The Scene staff
Crime at Forest Park was trending downward — until last year.
The number of campus police reports went from 59 in 2016 to 84 in 2017, an increase of 42 percent. That was despite enrollment holding steady at about 5,400 students.
“It’d be hard for me to speculate on why that happened,” said Capt. Benjamin Talley, noting he hadn’t reviewed crime statistics that Forest Park police had provided to The Scene.
Talley is stationed on the Florissant Valley campus, but he was designated as a spokesman for a recent interview because he’s second in command with St. Louis Community College district police.
Talley said he didn’t see cause for alarm in the 2017 crime statistics, which came from the Clery Act Public Crime Log for Forest Park.
“I would tell you there’s more than 84 crimes that happen on a shift in a lot of agencies,” he said.
As of the beginning of April, there had been 14 police reports filed in 2018, down from 19 by the same time last year.
Lt. Terri Buford, who is stationed on the Forest Park campus, considers it a safe place for students, faculty and staff.
“We work very hard to be seen in our community,” she said. “We’re out on foot patrol, we have a bike officer and we’re now sending another officer to bike school. Districtwide, we are making every effort to make sure that everybody is safe on campus.”
The largest increase in crime from 2016 to 2017 related to property damage, with the number of incidents rising from 13 to 20. The number of assaults went from one to five.
Both years, the most common crime was theft. There were 26 thefts in 2017, three more than the previous year, with the majority occurring in parking lots.
Buford didn’t identify types of items stolen, noting they “vary from case to case.”
But she stressed the need for students to use common sense when it comes to personal possessions like cellphones, book bags, purses and wallets.
“The best way to protect yourself in any environment is this: Don’t leave things in your car that you think someone else might want. … We have to get into the habit of saying, ‘If it’s important to me, it’s possibly important to someone else.’”
Officer Dan Taylor concurred.
“I see so many valuables in plain view, from purses to phones charging to iPods – everything,” he said.
Forest Park enrollment went from 6,815 students in fall of 2013 to 5,776 students in 2014, 5,254 students in 2015, 5,440 students in 2016 and 5,430 students in 2017.
During the same period, there were 134 police reports filed in 2013, 101 filed in 2014, 86 filed in 2015, 59 filed in 2016 and 84 filed in 2017.
Beyond property damage, assault and theft in 2017, there were 10 reports of harassment, seven of peace disturbances, four of auto accidents, three of stalking, two of trespassing, two of sex offenses, one of drugs or alcohol, one of illegal weapons, one of forgery, one of graffiti and one of a hate crime.
Nursing student Makayla Williams, 19, didn’t tell campus police that someone broke her car window and stole several items in April. Even if the thieves were caught, she said, she probably wouldn’t get her things back.
Williams blamed the theft on lack of surveillance on Forest Park parking lots.
“I don’t ever see the campus police doing that much,” she said. “They’re just sitting in their cars, not really watching.”
Business administration student Deonzae Johnson, 24, had a different view.
“I see (police officers) around from time to time,” he said. “They do their job efficiently. I have no negatives or complaints.”
Dental hygiene student Jessica Finder, 22, often walks to her car after dark, especially in the winter. Sometimes that makes her feel uncomfortable.
Finder thinks Forest Park police do an “alright” job.
“I feel safer having them around, having them present,” she said. “But I’d like to see them around more.”
Forest Park has police presence 24/7 with three officers from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and three officers and a supervisor from 3 to 11 p.m. weekdays, according to Buford.
“When students are here, we run three deep,” she said.
One officer patrols locked buildings from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays and on weekends. If there’s a special event taking place on campus, the college calls in more officers and possibly a dispatcher.
“We are in a very good place,” Buford said. “We do our jobs quickly, effectively and we are operating within our budget.”
She emphasized the need for cooperation and collaboration between police officers and students. Taylor called students “our eyes and ears.”
Buford and Taylor also stressed the importance of having police officers in visible locations on campus.
“The more people see us, the less these things will happen,” Taylor said. “Our presence is a deterrent.”
The lower numbers of crime reports so far in 2018 is good news for police. They hope to see the trend continue this fall, when more students will be on campus.
“We’re well aware that when school comes back in August that we get busier on the campuses,” Talley said. “We never lessen service, but we put our bodies where the bodies need to be.”