57 incidents went unreported
Public Safety denied reporters access to daily crime log
By: Lindsey Pilcher
Issue date: 2/17/05 Section: News
Daniel Carter, the vice-president of Security on Campus, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making college campuses safer, said the responsibility fell on Public Safety, as long as The Journal was making an effort to collect the data.
Jamalh Bussey, manager of public safety, and Tracy Winka, first shift supervisor, gave reporters information about the crime log last semester. Bussey declined to give an explanation about why incidents went unreported.
Carter said that he could understand why a shift supervisor would not know about the Clery Act, but that a manager of public safety should have known.
"That would suggest that they haven't even read their own annual security report and weren't aware of their policy," he said. "They violated federal law by not letting [The Journal] look at the crime log."
The Webster University Security Policies and Crime Statistics Policy states: "The university community is kept aware of reported incidents on campus and in the nearby community through the student newspaper and in the daily crime log located in the Department of Public Safety. The crime log is open to public inspection for the most recent 60-day period during normal business hours."
However, a reporter was not able to see the daily crime log on Nov. 2, 2004. On Nov. 9, 2004, Public Safety told the reporter there were no new incidents to report. On Nov. 30, 2004, Public Safety would not disclose incidents because they were still considered "open cases," even though the Clery Act states that the disposition of the case doesn't matter. From Oct. 14 to Nov. 30, only one incident was reported in The Journal.
When a reporter read the policy statement to a Liza Schultheis, Public Safety communications specialist, Feb. 1, access to the crime log was still denied. The Journal then ran a statement in "Misdemeanors and Mishaps," its weekly crime section, explaining why the crime log was unavailable.
Pesold said that all Public Safety employees should be aware of the Clery Act. Journal editors from 2001 to 2004 were read the crime log instead of physically inspecting it.
Jamalh Bussey, manager of public safety, and Tracy Winka, first shift supervisor, gave reporters information about the crime log last semester. Bussey declined to give an explanation about why incidents went unreported.
Carter said that he could understand why a shift supervisor would not know about the Clery Act, but that a manager of public safety should have known.
"That would suggest that they haven't even read their own annual security report and weren't aware of their policy," he said. "They violated federal law by not letting [The Journal] look at the crime log."
The Webster University Security Policies and Crime Statistics Policy states: "The university community is kept aware of reported incidents on campus and in the nearby community through the student newspaper and in the daily crime log located in the Department of Public Safety. The crime log is open to public inspection for the most recent 60-day period during normal business hours."
However, a reporter was not able to see the daily crime log on Nov. 2, 2004. On Nov. 9, 2004, Public Safety told the reporter there were no new incidents to report. On Nov. 30, 2004, Public Safety would not disclose incidents because they were still considered "open cases," even though the Clery Act states that the disposition of the case doesn't matter. From Oct. 14 to Nov. 30, only one incident was reported in The Journal.
When a reporter read the policy statement to a Liza Schultheis, Public Safety communications specialist, Feb. 1, access to the crime log was still denied. The Journal then ran a statement in "Misdemeanors and Mishaps," its weekly crime section, explaining why the crime log was unavailable.
Pesold said that all Public Safety employees should be aware of the Clery Act. Journal editors from 2001 to 2004 were read the crime log instead of physically inspecting it.
