More enforcement contributes to trend
USC saw a significant increase in burglaries and drug and alcohol violations in 2011, according to the 2012 Combined Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
Burglaries in residence halls rose 63 percent between 2010 and 2011 to 62 incidents. The total number of burglaries on campus rose at a slower rate, increasing by 30 percent to 113.
Capt. Eric Grabski, a spokesman for the Department of Law Enforcement and Safety, attributed the jump in reported incidents to an increase in crime and to a crackdown on crime by campus police.
“During the fall of last year, we had a rash of burglaries in some of the residence halls. Some of our crime prevention strategies alerted the community, and we were able to make arrests with the help of the public,” Grabski said. “Once those arrests were made, burglaries went down significantly.”
Police think the suspects in those burglaries were responsible for a handful of the incidents, Grabski said, though USC police did not have sufficient evidence to arrest them on additional charges.
University Housing did not change how it trains its resident mentors in response to the increase in residence hall burglaries, according to Kirsten Kennedy, its executive director.
On-campus arrests for drugs and drinking also increased by 43 and 24 percent respectively, to a total of 99 drug arrests and 26 for drinking.
Grabski credited the increase to a growing student population and an increase in law enforcement efforts.
“We stepped it up ... not only for drug and alcohol violations but for criminal activity in general,” he said.
The majority of alcohol violations were for charges of minor in possession, not disorderly conduct, he added.
The Office of Student Conduct saw 1,220 alcohol cases last year, according to the report, up 43 percent from the year prior. Another 251 were referred on drug charges, up 25 percent.