Major Crime Rate Up 8% on UC Irvine Campus : Violence: Statistics were lower for the university system as a whole over the previous year.

Major crime increased 8% at the UC Irvine campus in 1993 over the previous year, while the rate was lower for the state’s university system as a whole, according to University of California police.

The reason for the increase from 651 cases to 706 cases was a significant rise in property crimes, such as burglary and theft. However, violent crime at UCI dipped slightly, from 14 to 13 incidents.

UCI still ranked fourth in violent crime among nine UC campuses, behind UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside.

The UCI Medical Center, which is located off campus, had 27% fewer major crimes in 1993 compared to 1992.

Major crimes are classified as homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and arson.

For violent crime, UCI compared favorably to the rest of the UC system, which overall had a 24% jump in violent crime--from 162 to 200 cases--from 1992 to 1993. More than a quarter of those crimes--65 incidents--occurred at UCLA.

Some authorities cautioned against drawing conclusions from the statistical changes.

“We’re dealing with very small numbers (of crimes) to begin with,” said John A. Anderson, UC San Diego police chief and coordinator of UC system’s Police Services. “So, the percentage increases look much larger than they would be in a large municipality.”

At UCI, theft led the list of most common crimes, according to the report issued by university police. Statistics indicate that about 150 bicycles were reported stolen from the UCI campus in 1993, up 46% from the previous year. Statistics show that no bicycle theft cases were solved in 1993.

“Bike thefts have been problematic on campuses for several years,” Anderson said.

UCI police started their first bike patrols last year. Five UCI police officers were trained at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in bike-assisted policing, and now use mountain bikes to move around the campus.

“It’s proven itself in that we’re able to access areas faster than we would on foot,” UCI Assistant Police Chief Dennis Powers said. “It also touches on community-based policing because officers can meet people one-on-one.”

Although bicycle theft was up at UCI, statistics show 4% fewer bicycles were stolen throughout the entire UC system.

But robbery jumped 25% and aggravated assaults grew 31% systemwide, and Anderson said assaults are often due to “pub fights, fights that break out at football games, and the like.”

A challenge now facing UCI and UC San Diego, Anderson said, “is that these campuses have become much more urban and accessible. They used to be more remote, but now areas are becoming built up around them.”