Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Burglaries, robberies decline; aggravated assaults and batteries increase in campus area

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The number of reported burglaries and robberies declined in the University of Illinois Police Departments statistical reporting area during the academic year that ended May 13, figures released this week indicate. The number of reported aggravated assaults and batteries, as well as the number of criminal sexual assaults, increased during that eight-month period.

Residential burglaries declined, from 131 during the 1999-2000 academic year, to 112 from Sept. 1, 2000, through May 13, 2001. Similarly, burglaries from motor vehicles declined from 223 to 141, and burglaries decreased slightly, from 96 to 94. (Residential burglaries include burglaries from houses, apartments and residence halls; burglaries include burglaries from businesses and university buildings.) Most of the burglaries reported took place off campus, in the northwest quadrant of the statistical reporting area.

The statistical reporting area extends from University Avenue to Windsor Road, and from Neil Street to Lincoln Avenue, including Orchard Downs. This area includes both university and non-university property.

The number of reported robberies in the campus reporting area during the academic

year 23 continued the three-year downward trend. During the previous two semesters, 28 robberies were reported, down from 42 in the 1998-99 academic year.

Reports of criminal sexual assaults increased slightly, from 14 to 16, one fewer than the number (17) of criminal sexual assaults reported during the academic year three years ago.

“These kinds of relatively consistent numbers indicate we need to continue and strengthen our crime-awareness and safety programs,” said Capt. Kris Fitzpatrick of the UI Police Department. “People need not only to see and hear these figures but also realize they need to be constantly aware of the potential for crime.”

The largest increase in reported crimes was in the category for aggravated assaults and batteries. From Sept. 1, 2000, through May 13, 2001, UI police recorded 80 reports, up from 54 in the previous year. Three years ago, the number of aggravated assaults and batteries reported in the campus area was 81.

Not surprisingly, UI students were the most frequent victims of aggravated assaults and batteries in the campus area, particularly men between the ages of 18 and 29 who were out between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on weekends.

“People dont generally think of people from this particular age group and gender as being victims of crime, but the statistics say otherwise,” said UI Police Chief O.J. Clark. “Thats why we constantly are trying to drive home the message that people should avoid walking alone, they should drink responsibly, and they must be aware of their surroundings at all times.”

Read Next

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Nishant Garg, center, is joined by fellow researchers, from left: Yujia Min, Hossein Kabir, Nishant Garg, center, Chirayu Kothari and M. Farjad Iqbal, front right. In front are examples of clay samples dissolved at different concentrations in a NaOH solution. The team invented a new test that can predict the performance of cementitious materials in mere 5 minutes. This is in contrast to the standard ASTM tests, which take up to 28 days. This new advance enables real-time quality control at production plants of emerging, sustainable materials. Photo taken at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Researchers develop a five-minute quality test for sustainable cement industry materials

A new test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can predict the performance of a new type of cementitious construction material in five minutes — a significant improvement over the current industry standard method, which takes seven or more days to complete. This development is poised to advance the use of next-generation resources called supplementary cementitious materials — or SCMs — by speeding up the quality-check process before leaving the production floor.

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010