The most common weapons used in assaults at schools are personal weapons and cutting instruments, according to a recent FBI study. The FBI also provided insight into what time of year criminal acts are most likely to occur at schools, finding it to be the month of October.
The FBI's study, "Crime in Schools and Colleges: A Study of Offenders and Arrestees Reported via National Incident-Based Reporting System Data," was released last week and examined criminal incidents that occurred at schools, colleges and universities from 2000 to 2004. The study focused on data collected by the FBI from a limited group of law enforcement agencies through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
The purpose in consolidating the data into a study was to help law enforcement officers, policymakers, school administrators and the public better understand how to handle and decrease the amount of crime occurring in educational communities, according to the introduction to the study.
The study's introduction also noted that some of the results are contrary to popular perceptions of crime on campuses.
The study found that the majority of assault crimes involved personal weapons, which include, for example, hands, fists and feet. In crimes involving other weapons, however, knives and other cutting instruments were the weapon of choice, used more than three times as often as guns.
According to University Police Lieut. Melissa Fielding, the majority of crimes committed at the University are personal property crimes.
"Of the crimes against people we have, generally speaking, those crimes on Grounds don't involve weapons," she said. "The students and faculty and staff that are here are held under the University's weapons policy which restricts the ability to have weapons."
She noted that by limiting the presence of pocket knives and minor weapons on Grounds, the chance of a weapon being used in an assault decreases.
The FBI report also found criminal incidents on a school campus are most likely to occur in October.
According to Patricia Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, she sends a warning to students every October to remain cautious and alert. According to Lampkin, by October most students are more comfortable with their surroundings than they were at the beginning of the year, causing them to be less cautious.
"People are in and settled, and I want them to still be aware," she said.
She also noted that students are less likely to pay attention to their safety around Halloween, and that their schedules have not yet adjusted to the sun setting earlier.
"We pay very close attention to the rhythm of students' lives," Lampkin said.
She added, though, that the University always implements high security measures, regardless of the time of year.
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