Concerned parents were hardly reassured by TV footage of detectives slogging around on snowshoes outside the rural New Hampshire house of slain Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop and police dogs sniffing around the rolling Gallaudet campus. But so far, there's no common thread to the crimes, and experts say there's no reason for families to worry more than usual about campus safety. The latest data, in fact, show a decline in homicides at four-year colleges, from 17 in 1998 to 10 in 1999. Campus police patrol the grounds on bicycles. And Cogswell Hall can be entered only by someone with a smart card.
Schools try to balance openness and safety.
Campus Inc. This nonprofit organization provides a host of information on preventing campus crime, including safety tips and a list of campus police Web sites . Campus Security Statistics Search . Provided by the Department of Education 's Office of Postsecondary Education , this tool allows you to search for crime statistics at specific schools. World Report Inc. All rights reserved.