Violent crime at the University of California, Davis, decreased in 1994 and there was also a significant decrease in the number of property crimes committed at the Davis campus and the university's medical center in Sacramento. These findings are part of a report prepared annually by the University of California Police Department on reported crimes at UC's nine campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Campus crime is counted through the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the same program used by law enforcement agencies throughout the state. "Statistics continue to suggest that, while crime does occur on campus and at the medical center in Sacramento, the rate of both violent crime and property crime continues to be lower than in the communities that surround us," said Calvin Handy, police chief at UC Davis. Data from the Davis campus and its medical center in Sacramento showed that violent crime, including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and forcible and non forceable sex offenses, represented less than 1 percent of all crimes committed. Two rapes were reported last year. In 1993, two rapes and one attempted rape were reported; and in 1992 one rape and five attempted rapes were reported. Last year's two rapes were both alleged acquaintance rapes; one reportedly occurred in a residence hall room and the second outside of a campus building. Both cases were filed with the district attorney's office. Six robberies were reported last year, up one from 1993. Six robberies were also reported in 1991. Five occurred at the medical center in Sacramento and one on the Davis campus. In three of the robberies, knives were used as weapons. There were no weapons used in the other two robberies. Nine aggravated assaults were reported last year, down eight from 1993 and down three from 1992. Five of the cases occurred on the Davis campus and four at the medical center. Four of the five Davis cases were reported to have happened in the resident housing areas; one of the cases involved a knife, all others involved physical confrontations. The fifth case was an altercation during a basketball game. Arrests were made in three of the five cases. At the medical center, all four aggravated assaults involved hands and feet as weapons. Arrests were made in three of the four assault cases at the medical center. There were significant decreases in property crimes in 1994, according to the year-end statistics. Property crimes, which include burglary, arson and theft of such items as bicycles, decreased. Burglary decreased by 30 percent from 1993. "We attribute the decrease in our burglaries to concentrated patrol responses to targeted areas, said Handy. The only area that increased was auto thefts. There were a total of 215 thefts from motor vehicles. Stereos and compact discs were popular items to steal in 1994. The most common methods used to gain entry to vehicles were window smashes and punched-out door locks. The reported number of bicycles stolen from the campus decreased slightly. Four arsons were reported in 1994. All cases had little or no property damage. Five arsons were reported in 1993, a decrease of seven cases over the previous year. Most involved minimal property damage. Drunk-driving arrests increased 37 percent from a year ago. Drunk driving continues to be a focus of the UC Davis Police Department, according to Handy. UC Davis police officers arrested 113 last year. Of those arrested only three had any affiliation with the campus or the medical center in Sacramento. For all offenses committed during the year, UC Davis police officers arrested 549 individuals, up 19 from a year ago. The department's Rape Prevention and Education Program continues to expand its services to the campus community, noted Handy. Through 247 presentations, the staff reached 7,289 campus employees. Last year, the program concentrated on improving outreach to staff and to graduate and professional students. This year, it hosted a national conference where more than 200 students from 70 colleges and universities around the country discussed sexual violence and support networks for women. Further efforts made by the department to encourage campus safety include having beat officers become more active with the community they serve. Faculty, staff and students are seeing police officers spend more time on foot patrols and less time in patrol cars. In 1994, the department also developed two specialized units to resolve critical incidents that might occur on the Davis campus as well as in Sacramento and at the medical center. "The Special Enforcement Team and the Critical Incident Negotiations Team are important additions to our department," said Handy. The UC Davis police chief is especially happy with the Neighborhood Police Officer program that trains cops to work with youths in Sacramento neighborhoods that have problems with drugs, violence and gangs. The UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento began funding two full-time campus officers last year to participate in the program to show support for the community and to help revitalize the Oak Park neighborhood where the medical center is located. The NPO program is a citywide project of the Sacramento police department. "The NPO program is a huge success because the overall crime rate and calls for service are down," said Handy. Since the program was initiated in the Oak Park area, felony assaults are down 19 percent, robberies decreased 37 percent and shootings dropped by 38 percent. "This program is a model for the Sacramento police department and for universities that are in similar geographical settings," Handy said.