A total of 1,208 criminal offenses were reported to the public safety office in 1998, compared to the 1,479 offenses reported in 1997. The downward trend is reflected in nearly all categories of crime on campus. The KU Parking Department's August 1998 change from parking-permit hang tags to stickers has led to a decrease in reports of stolen permits.
Violent crimes continue to be a small percentage of crimes reported.
Despite the overall decrease in crime, Sgt. Troy Mailen, Public Safety Office spokesman, reminded the university community to actively protect themselves from becoming victims of crime. Everyone on this campus needs to be aware of the crimes that happen and to minimize their vulnerability. The statistics released also included new categories required by an amendment to the Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act which requires that all crimes motivated by hate or bias be included in the statistics. All of the required statistics are included except for crimes occurring on property controlled by student groups and on public property around campus.