Despite this ratio, crime in the area decreased.
The County and Municipal Offense Data Semi-annual Report stated the amount of crime from 2008 to 2009 for the UCF Police Department has decreased by 22.2 percent. This is a 5.7 percent reduction from the 16.5 percent decrease that occurred between 2007 and 2008.
“We attribute [the decrease] to a couple of factors,” said UCF Police Department’s Chief Richard Beary. “No. 1 is we’ve enhanced our security.”
Security has increased on and off campus, Beary said. Off-campus housing, such as Pegasus Landing and Pegasus Pointe, is gated and patrolled by security officers. The security officers report to the department but are private security officers contracted through the university, Beary said.
The UCF Police Department also has directed patrol, which is when the department looks at crime patterns not only on campus, but across Orange and Seminole counties to target areas subject to being victimized.
The department patrols more but has about the same number of officers as last year, Beary said.
Source: Central Florida Future, by Kevin Hernandez, October 18, 2009; for the full story visit the Web site.