Investigator added as crime reports rise

— Campus police will move an officer from patrol to investigations to keep up with a higher-than-usual number of time-intensive cases at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville this semester.

The University of Arkansas Police Department has operated with two investigators, but a third will be necessary to complete research into several high-profile crimes this semester, Director Steve Gahagans said.

Lt. Gary Crain, department spokesman, said UAPD recently hit 1,000 incident reports for the semester, keeping it on par with a typical year, but the nature of the reports has changed.

“This year is not much different,” he said. “We still have the regular cases that come in as usual, but we also have these that are rather time consuming.”

The difference is in the size of the investigations, Crain said. Cases that involve dozens of students require more interviews and documentation, and a high number of rapes reported in a short span of time have exhausted current staff, he said.

LARGE INVESTIGATIONS

Police arrested UA student Leiabrently Washington, 19, on Dec. 11 on a felony charge of video voyeurism after a student reported noticing a camera beneath the shower stall wall in a bathroom inPomfret Hall.

After searching Washington’s dorm room, also in Pomfret Hall, police discovered video files shot on cell phone cameras and small video cameras, all of male students showering and filmed without their consent.

A notice sent to the dorm’s residents said the video doesn’t appear to have been published on the internet or shared with other individuals.

To determine the extent of Washington’s charges, police are trying to determine how many students were filmed, Crain said. To do so, an officer must watch the film, capturing still images of the victim’s faces and matching them with the dorm’s residents. “An investigator will be tied up for who knows how long just to do that one thing,” Crain said.

The department launched a formal investigation Dec. 9 into hazing allegations at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house at the request of the university’s Judicial Affairs committee.

The fraternity chapter’s charter was suspended by its international organization following a Nov. 12 new member event, after which an 18-yearold potential member was hospitalized for two days with alcohol poisoning.

Police must interview a majority of the 100 members and 40 pledges present before determining potential charges, a process that will extend into the spring semester, Crain said.

RAPE REPORTS

Sexual assaults are the only category of crime reporting that has markedly surpassed previous years’ crime trends on campus, officers said.

“It’s rare that we have so many rapes reported in such a short time span,” Crain said. “That complicates things.”

There have been six reports of rapes on campus this semester, nearly matching the total of seven forcible sexual assaults reported on or around campus for the entire previous academic year, according to Clery Act statistics, federally mandated data compiled annually from several sources.

There were four rape reports in 2007 and 2004, three in 2006 and none in 2005.

All but one of this year’s reports involve students. The other involved guests at the Inn at Carnall Hall, which is on campus.

The statistical boost may reflect an increase in reporting rather than an increase in assaults, Gahagans said.

A 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Justice said that one in five women who attends college will be a victim of rape or attempted rape by the time she graduates, but just 5 percent will report the incident.

The subject of sexual assault has taken on a higher profile on campus in part because of an 18-year-old woman’s allegations that three Razorbacks basketball players raped her at an unregistered party Aug. 27 at the Phi Gamma Delta House.

The UA Office of Greek Life suspended all Inter-Fraternal council events for the semester in response to the incident and allegations of hazing at the Phi Delta Theta house.

The Washington County prosecutor did not press charges in the incident at the Phi Gamma Delta house, claiming a lack of consent could not be proven.

Prosecutor coordinator Bob McMahan appointed special prosecutor H.G. Foster to review the case after the woman’s attorney, John D. Bass, alleged Prosecuting Attorney John Threet had a conflict of interest in the case. Foster’s review continues.

Bass argued that Threet didn’t look closely enough at the case because his stepfather-in-law is former Athletic Director Frank Broyles. Also, Threet’s sister-in-law is married to Kevin Trainor, associate athletic director for media relations.

The well-publicized case early in the semester could inspire other victims to report crimes, particularly in acquaintance rape situations, which are less likely to be reported, said S. Daniel Carter, director of policy for Security on Campus Inc., a nonprofit organization based in King of Prussia, Pa., that tracks the prevention and documentation of campus crime.

“If there are other cases that seem to be taken seriously, that will encourage others to come forward,” he said. “They will believe that they will be taken seriously.”

CHANGING ROLE

The UA police department has 21 patrol officers, three of which are paired with experienced officers in on-field training, and two investigators, Crain said.

The new investigator likely will start with supervised tasks in existing investigations before acquiring more training and autonomy, he said.

“We shift people around to help them get more experienced anyway,” Crain said.

The move will be permanent unless crime reports slow, he said. It will not bring any additional cost for the department because the former patrol officer will earn the same salary as an investigator.

Carter said he would expect about three investigators on a campus the size of Fayetteville’s. The UA had 19,849 students at the start of the semester, according to an enrollment report by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

Previous UA crime statistics are in keeping with southern public universities of similar size, according to an analysis of Clery Act data provided through the U.S. Department of Education. For example, Missouri State University in Springfield, which had 19,489 students in 2008, had the same number of forcible sexual assaults, one fewer aggravated assault and 59 reports of burglary, compared with 67 at UA.

Campus police departments differ from municipal departments because they deal with close-knit communities, higher incidence of sexual assault, and more large-scale investigations, Carter said.

“It’s a different social environment, it’s a much more insular setting, and investigations often are different,” he said.

Employment statistics reflect the growing responsibility of the departments, Carter said. The inflation-adjusted starting salary of a starting campus officer has grown 5 percent in the last 10 years, more closely aligning with that of a municipal officer.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, campus police departments would have been seen as a place where a chief would go to retire,” he said. “Now it’s its own profession.” To contact this reporter:

[email protected]

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/21/2009

Upcoming Events