UC Campuses ‘Crime-Ridden’

The University of California’s nine campuses “are among the most crime-ridden campuses in the country” but spend only $12 million a year to protect UC’s 147,000 students, the chairman of a state watchdog commission said today. Nathan Shapell, chairman of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, better known as the Little Hoover Commission, said there were 299 rapes, assaults and murders last year on UC campuses.

“One apparent cause of this increase in crime is the movement of outside youth gangs and other criminals onto campus,” Shapell said at a hearing on campus security held at UCLA. He said another problem is confusion about authority and responsibility for dormitory security on some campuses.