SANTA ANA : College District Crime Rate Drops

Vandalism, graffiti and thefts on campuses throughout the Rancho Santiago Community College District plummeted 50% over the last year, security officials announced this week.

But in his report to district trustees, security director J.R. Johnson called for additional safety measures to further reduce crime on campus.

Johnson said that for the 1993-94 academic year, no burglaries or assaults were reported on district grounds. In the previous year, the district recorded 10 burglaries and three robberies.

Thefts from vehicles also declined from 68 the previous year to 58, he said.

Johnson credited the board’s 1992 decision to spend $250,000 on security improvements for the drop in crime.

The board authorized spending the money on gates to close parking lots at night, and special observation towers for security personnel to oversee parking lots. Other enhancements included adding 24-hour security at some campuses in the college district.

He also cited the presence of student security assistants who patrolled campuses during the summer. Throughout the course of that three-month program, no cars were broken into or stolen.

However, he noted that some crime categories remained essentially unchanged. For the 1993-94 year, the district reported one rape, three robberies and 17 car thefts. Statistics for the the previous year are nearly identical.