By Dylan Bradley/editor-in-chief
The number of motor vehicle burglaries and thefts has declined across the district while the number of reported forcible sexual offenses has risen, according to 2011-2013 crime statistics.
A report published annually by the TCC police department, which includes crimes, arrests and referrals, is available to students and the public.
“It lists all the occurrences on each campuses that students have a right to know,” TCC police Capt. William Ivie said. “Any student is free to walk up to any police station in the district and ask to view a copy of that report.”
Ivie said burglary of a motor vehicle is any intrusion into a motor vehicle with the intent to commit a theft, and such vehicles are usually targets of opportunity, such as when someone leaves something of value in plain view.
The district had 14 incidents of motor vehicle burglary in 2013, and South Campus made up nine of those.
South has seen at least half of the district’s motor vehicle burglary incidents the past three years.
In 2011, the district had 24 instances, and South Campus reported 13 of those. In 2012, South made up 10 of the district’s 20 reports.
While burglary of a motor vehicle is when something is stolen from a vehicle, motor vehicle theft is when a vehicle is stolen.
The district saw only one incident of motor vehicle theft, or stolen vehicles, in 2013, down from 12 in 2012 and eight in 2011.
The one theft occurred on SE Campus, which had two in 2011 and three in 2012. South had several combined thefts in 2011 and 2012 but had none last year.
“There was a motorcycle theft ring in the Fort Worth area, and if you think about South Campus, it is literally right on the edge,” Ivie said.
Sex offenses of a forcible nature occurred five times in 2013 across the district, an increase from three in 2012 and two in 2011.
Ivie said that for reporting purposes, the definition of a forcible sex offense is much broader than the penal definition.
“Any unwanted touching could count because that’s considered fondling,” he said.
NW Campus had three reported cases in 2013, the most of any campus.
The district had one report of arson in 2013, and it occurred on NW Campus. Ivie said the definition of arson was also broader for their reporting.
“Arson is not specifically lighting a building on fire. It’s any occurrence of smoke and open flame that was intentionally caused,” he said. “In the case of NW, it was toilet paper that was ignited in the bathroom.”
The report covers 2011 through 2013 and has categories in criminal offenses, arrests, referrals and reporting of other offenses not mandated by federal law. The report is available at any TCC police station or online at http://www.tccd.edu/TCC_Police/Clery_Act_Statistics.html.
