Every week, the college releases safety reports which list every incident reported to them, along with specific details of the event including location, disposition and nature of the incident.
With a reported 22 incidents by the end of week five, Ashley Klco, director of campus safety, helped explain what the reports mean for the campus.
This term, a new category appeared on the report dated Jan. 13-19 called “Deceptive Practices.”
“It is a broad topic, but really it’s when someone intends to defraud another person,” said Klco.
This can happen if you lose your credit card and someone uses it. If this happens to a student on campus, they can report to Campus Safety who, oftentimes, encourages them to go to the Naperville Police Department.
That same week, Campus Safety reported seven incidents, much higher than the average week. Among these were cases of harassment, vandalism and theft. Klco said students shouldn’t worry because reported incidents will fluctuate week to week or month to month. “The only time I think you’re going to see a significant difference is in summer because the population changes,” she said.
“I think more people are reporting. We are a ‘see something, say something’ campus and so we want to be able to get that information and I think people are just reporting it more,” Klco said.
It can be seen through the reports that some incidents aren’t reported until months later. For example, a reported theft that took place on Dec. 1 was not recorded until Jan. 17. Klco said, “Anytime something is reported to us, the moment it is reported to us, is the moment it gets added to this (safety report) regardless if it happened a year ago or two years ago.”
There is no time frame for when people can report an incident.
If the institution handled the incident, then the report labels it as a closed case. An open case means there could be conduct pending, people are looking into the matter, or more information is coming. Some cases that have resulted in the arrest of an individual are still open because there is further action being taken from outside enforcement. As Klco said, “we can’t arrest anyone, we’re a non-sworn department so that is a separate incident.”
There have been two arrests so far this term in drug-related incidents.
It doesn’t matter who reports an incident to Campus Safety. If it happens in the geographical region of the college, the institution is required to record it.
Klco said, “It can be anybody. It can be a community member, faculty, staff, a parent, there’s no limitation to what we put on the report.
“I think it’s helpful to support each other and reporting things that are of concern so that our Campus Safety officers can go and investigate and hopefully alleviate whatever that concern might be,” she said.
