Though it may appear as if sexual assaults at and near Boston University’s Charles River Campus have increased this semester, aggressive reporting has led to this skewed perception, police say.
“I think if you looked in the past, there hasn’t been an increase or a decrease [in sexual assaults],” said Boston University Police Department Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire. “I think it happened in a cluster rather than being spread out through the year.”
Chief Thomas Robbins has put an emphasis on making campus crimes public, St. Hilaire said, even though the BUPD is required to do so by federal law.
“This is the quintessential urban campus,” St. Hilaire said. “Being more aggressive means you’re going to show more crime. We’re reporting more. We’re taking more action.”
The BUPD has reported five sexual assault cases this semester. The most recent occurred Oct. 20, when a female reported she was sexually assaulted after leaving a Kenmore Square bar with two white men who offered her drugs while in the bar.
St. Hilaire said the alleged sexual assault in Warren Towers remains the only incident still under investigation. The department has had no leads since Sept. 30, when the victim, a female visitor to BU, reported being attacked at 3:30 a.m. in the 16th floor bathroom of Shields Tower.
The victim described her assailant as a 5-foot-10 white man in his early 20s, who weighed about 170 pounds.
16C resident Laura Verillo, a College of Communication freshman, said the information given to students immediately following the attack was fragmented. She said she would have preferred an exclusive meeting with university representatives solely for the floor.
“They could have just given us more information about what was going on,” Verillo said. “Because it was our neighbors, we knew more than other people.”
St. Hilaire said having no leads in the case is not a failure on the university’s part. Although the BUPD interviewed students and provided them with a composite drawing of the alleged assailant, no one has come forward with new information.
“No one can guarantee you 100 percent safety, but I think the students are relatively safe within the residential halls,” St. Hilaire said. “It had nothing to do with the Guest Policy. There wasn’t a breakdown of the system or anything like that. We’ve reviewed videotape. There’s nothing there.”
Residents on the all-girls 16th floor said they have begun to feel more secure in the months since the incident, but most of them still lock their doors at night.
“At first it was a little bit nerve-racking,” said 16C resident Chelsea Clarke, a School of Education freshman. “That was the first week that it happened, and that was just because we didn’t have any real facts. . . . You automatically assumed the worst things, but now I feel completely safe.”
St. Hilaire said the BUPD’s purpose is threefold when looking into the alleged Warren crime: The police are concerned with the actual crime, the fear of crime and the perception of crime. Aside from its investigation, the BUPD performed random and 24-hour patrols in Warren following the incident.
“There were people at the residence hall that didn’t feel safe, so I think the visible presence was good for awhile there,” St. Hilaire said. “I can tell you the feedback from the parents and the student body was actually very good.”
St. Hilaire said officers now stop into residence halls at times, but not on a round-the-clock basis.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said since the incident, there has been a greater awareness of sexual assaults on campus, adding students should ensure their safety when walking at night or alone.
“I try to make sure that I’m on well-lit paths,” Elmore said. “I try to make sure I don’t have my iPod on.”
St. Hilaire said he recommends carrying a loud alarm device when walking and said students should always report crimes as soon as they occur.
“We always like to talk about that if you call us, we’ll be there in a minute or two,” he said. “Studies show that on average, even though police get there within two or three minutes of a call . . . people call 10 minutes after the crime’s happened.”
St. Hilaire said because many crimes have hit close to campus, students need to be more aware.
“Let’s put it this way: I would not go through the Boston Common early in the morning or late at night, nor would I be walking up Beacon Street at 2:30 in the morning unless I was armed,” he said. “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be alone.”
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