Athens Police and Ohio University officials say it is difficult for law enforcement to keep sexual assaults from occurring, and students need to take preventative action to thwart would-be attackers.
“Philosophically speaking, crime prevention isn’t a primary job of a police department,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. “We have to deal with criminals after a crime has been committed.”
However, he feels prevention is best achieved by educating the general public.
“We never want to appear that we are pointing fingers or that we don’t care about the victims,” Pyle said.
Pyle recalled a situation last week in which a witness called in a report to the department about “two suspicious characters behind a warehouse.” Once police reached the scene, the suspects were caught, whereas if 10 minutes had passed, the suspects would not have been apprehended.
“Don’t walk home alone or inebriated,” Pyle said. “Those go a long way in preventing (sexual assaults). … We aren’t blaming the victims, but many of these can be prevented by some of these measures.”
In 2010, 12 on-campus sexual assaults, including six forcible rapes and six forcible fondling cases, were reported. Those totals are up from 2009, in which there were eight forcible rapes reported and no forcible fondlings, according to a previous Post article.
OU Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith agrees prevention is rooted in safety practices, as most assaults and rapes involve familiar people and surroundings.
“Nine out of 10 rapes we see are acquaintance rapes, not just someone the victim doesn’t know,” Smith said. “It usually takes place in a house or apartment, not just someone being abducted. And it almost always involves alcohol.”
Though this does put a certain amount of pressure on students, many acknowledge that their peers aren’t always careful at night.
Sophomore Ericka Schmidt is comfortable with OU but stays cognizant of a potential attack.
“I don’t feel that threatened because I believe I could either run or put up a fight. Some girls just get belligerent and walk home,” Schmidt said. “I feel South Green is the most dangerous, though. It’s the biggest, and it’s far away from everything.”
Schmidt said she has a connection to the issue on a personal level, recalling a friend who was once assaulted.
“It’s scary; it pisses me off that someone could do that,” Schmidt said. “It’s like killing a puppy or a baby — it’s just absolutely sick. It’s all about controlling another person.”
Despite committing to being proactive when it comes to assault prevention, sophomore Katie Flannagan feels the descriptions of attackers provided in university email alerts are not always helpful.
“The descriptions don’t do anything,” Flannagan said. “It freaks my mom out more than me. She asks if I bring my pepper spray with me.”
With the recent indictment of Levi D. Canterbury, 21, of Gallipolis, Pyle has confirmed his confidence in local officers when it comes to tracking down those guilty of assault or rape.
Canterbury’s charges stemmed from a Sept. 10 incident when he allegedly picked up a female student on State Route 682, drove her to a lit parking lot and raped her. He then dropped her off near College Gate, according to an OUPD crime alert.
“I’m definitely confident in our officers abilities — we certainly don’t take these things lightly,” said Pyle. “We would prefer to be out of business, but in law enforcement you’re never out of clientele.
Along with recent Campus Involvement Center and Student Senate initiatives, Smith said educating the student body is a priority.
“Ultimately, it’s up to students to prevent this,” Smith said.
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