Fall Welcome brings more crime

---

Tweet

From a high-speed car chase through the streets of East Lansing to the arrest of Kelly Bernero — Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero’s daughter — the city has seen its share of crime this summer.

Despite the few tragedies that struck this community, crime in East Lansing has been tame compared to a typical fall, East Lansing Capt. Kim Johnson said.

Crime normally is higher on campus during the first few weeks of school and declines during the semester, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said.

Next week, East Lansing and MSU police will finalize plans for upping patrol in the city for Fall Welcome and the fall semester.

Students also play a vital role in crime prevention, Johnson said.

“Victims need to reduce their opportunity of being a victim,” Johnson said. “We say it’s pretty simple, but it’s hard to put that concept into practice.”

Keeping doors locked, parking in well-lit areas and not leaving items unattended are easy steps to prevent thefts that some students overlook, McGlothian-Taylor said.

“I think everybody knows these (precautions), but they don’t always take them to heart,” Johnson said.

For psychology junior Kelly Shaffer, locking her doors and windows paid off this summer.

Walking home to her first-floor apartment on Michigan Avenue, she noticed a man trying to open her window.

“I just walked past my apartment because I knew it was locked — I knew he wasn’t getting in,” Shaffer said.

After about five minutes, he’d gone, she said.

Living in the dorms, Shaffer knew students on her floor had laptops and other valuables stolen, although it never happened to her.

Ignoring university rules and letting guests in after hours might lead to theft or other crime, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Unlike students, guests without MSU affiliation have fewer ties to the community and sometimes commit many of the crimes students are blamed for, she said.

Breaking university rules, such as letting strangers into residence halls, undermines security on campus, McGlothian-Taylor said.

“One of things I think is important (is that) students not bypass safety mechanisms setup for them at the university,” she said.

“If a residence hall closes at a certain time, (students should) not encourage people to come in after hours — those types of things hurt the system.”

But sometimes, students don’t learn the importance of crime prevention until it’s too late, Johnson said.

“The tough thing is, people learn after they become victims,” he said.

“We want them to learn before they become victims.”

---