Sexual offenses that occur off campus in Athens may slide past students, faculty and staff despite local law enforcement’s attempts to inform the populace.
In the last 17 months, the Athens Police Department received reports of 68 sexual-related crimes, according to documents from APD. Of those crimes, at least 51 occurred in areas densely populated by Ohio University students.
During the same period, OUPD sent out eight crime alerts for such offenses on campus.
Because OU’s campus and the City of Athens are considered two separate jurisdictions, the Ohio University Police Department is not required to issue crime alerts when a sexual offense occurs off campus, Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers said.
If a crime takes place on property not owned by the university — including areas highly populated by students — APD handles the case, Powers said.
“Geography is what defines jurisdiction,” Powers said. “It doesn’t matter who the victim is or what they are affiliated with or anything else.”
Though OUPD is required to alert students about offenses on campus, APD is not required to disseminate alerts about such offenses that occur in the city, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.
“If we have a situation where we feel the rest of the public may be endangered, we do a public announcement,” Pyle said. “There’s not a system, we just do it through the local media.”
Until recently, reports of sexual offenses were not distributed in press releases to the media, Pyle said, adding that he decided to change this policy when he became police chief last year.
“I thought the public had a right to know what was going on,” Pyle said.
In 2009, OUPD began using emails to notify students and faculty of crimes presenting a threat to safety, Powers said.
The notification system is a result of the Clery Act, a federal law requiring universities to disclose campus crime information.
“We assist (APD) when necessary, but by default, we’re not required to issue alerts on things that occur outside our jurisdiction,” Powers said.
Alerting students about sexual offenses that occur off campus is important because some do not keep up with local media and may remain in the dark, said Chelsea Altman, an Oak Street resident and junior studying management information systems.
“We need to be notified considering the amount of people walking off campus,” she said. “That way, we can be more cautious when walking home alone at night.”
Investigating sexual offenses is often made difficult by the nature of the crimes, which makes alerting the public challenging, Pyle said.
Most victims know the perpetrators of sexual crimes, and most sexual offenses occur in homes, residence halls or apartments, Pyle added.
Some victims may report sexual offenses to APD but not include details such as the location of the crime, Pyle said.
“We investigate, get to a certain point and they pull back,” Pyle said. “These things are so delicate and personal, and we try to account for that.”
Athens Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, said alerts about sexual offenses in Athens could be helpful for students’ safety, but stressed protecting the confidentiality of survivors.
Alerts would be an ideal way for the Athens and Ohio University Police Departments to work together through the Joint Police Advisory Council, which is a collaborative effort between the two departments, she added.
No matter how people are alerted, Altman said the key to safety is awareness, especially if the incident occurs off campus.
“You want to know what’s happening in your backyard,” Altman said. “If you don’t know, you won’t take more precautions.”
kg278810@ohiou.edu
