After a year when a stabbing, arson, robberies and an armed fugitive have all caused concern on campus, Athens is being viewed as typical by local law enforcement.
“We've seen the things we usually see. I don't know that we've had a particularly unusual or noteworthy year. We always have a few things that happen once or twice like the arsonist in Tiffin Hall,” Andrew Powers, Ohio University Police Chief said.
When someone commits a crime and no one knows who committed it, the department has to rely on things turning up during the course of an investigation, Powers said.
With the unsolved crimes, there was no physical evidence left behind nor was there any video surveillance, he added.
“So, it probably will become what we call an inactive case,” Powers said. “If there's nothing else to follow up on, there's no way to have an active investigation.”
Mayor Paul Wiehl said it isn’t a new trend for some of these to go unsolved.
“We have an unsolved murder that has been going on for ten plus years. It comes down to whether you can get any new information or evidence,” Wiehl said. “There aren’t a bunch of Sherlock Holmeses out there doing this.”
Because the investigative unit of the police force has limited manpower, it can only spend so much time on investigations that have reached a dead end, Wiehl said.
“My perspective on this is if this is a repeat offender, they'll get caught,” Wiehl said. “They'll scuffle. I don’t like the idea that they’re unsolved but there is only so much you can put forward.”
On Monday, Patrick Barry was indicted for the Courtside stabbing.
Also, the male wanted for voyeurism after entering a girl’s shower in Brown Hall was recently arrested. In addition, the Tiffin Hall arsonist was recently arrested after someone provided a tip through Athens Crime Solvers Anonymous, helping the department with its lead, Powers said.
While some of the major crimes occurring this year remain unsolved, the year hasn’t stood out above others, and has even seen decreases in areas.
“For some reason, in the spring of 2013, we’re down about 40-45 noise complaints from where we were at this time last year,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. “If that holds true, I could see us being down between 10-20 percent by the end of the year.”
Pyle attributed the reduction to persistent noise enforcement and the nuisance-party campaign started by the department in the fall. He added that the types of crime his department deals with have remained static with what they usually encounter.
“I look at the city as being pretty crime-free,” Wiehl said. “In terms of shutting down the university, we've gotten to the point where I think we have the ability to actually react to these things in real time. Our priorities are crimes against people, then property, then we work our way down.”
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