It’s no secret that as the Ohio University student population in Athens goes down, so do local crime rates.
Following a school year that included unsolved violent crimes and what then was called a ricin scare, Athens law enforcement officials agree that this summer has been decidedly “normal.”
But since OU students left in droves, there’s been one crime keeping campus law enforcement busy: traffic violations.
With the southbound lane of University Terrace closed to traffic, OUPD Chief Andrew Powers said his officers have had to write a fair amount of tickets for drivers who ignore the barricade.
“We had to have Parking and Transportation Services put up more cones and signage,” Powers said. “As a result we have seen some improvement.”
Off campus, though, Athens Police Department officers are still dealing with a few crimes they see during the school year, which APD Chief Tom Pyle said was typical.
But noise violations, in particular, have not leveled out as they usually do during the summer. That’s puzzling, Pyle said, because there aren’t more OU students in Athens than usual.
APD is also wary of summertime vandalism.
Students who aren’t living in Athens this summer but lease apartments might be in for a rude awakening when they return to Athens, Pyle said.
“A lot of people come back and find that their residence has been robbed while they were gone,” he said.
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