Crime rates up on MU campus

Some University of Missouri students told ABC 17 News on Tuesday and Wednesday that they are concerned for their safety on campus.

They said they are getting more MU alerts which to them feels like more crime around them.

ABC 17 News took that question to the MU police department.

“There is not a big upswing of crimes on campus. There are crimes in the area, crimes on campus. We have seen slight increases and bumps like this in previous years,” said Captain Bryan Weimer with the University of Missouri police department.

ABC 17 News pulled the numbers and learned violent crimes on campus are higher than they have been in the past five years, and it’s not just violent crimes that are up.

In 2014 there was a hike in the category of rapes and burglaries.

In fact, they were also the highest they have been in several years.

As for this year, the numbers are not in yet.

However, this time of year can be a dangerous one according to police.

“It’s coming up at the end of the school year, there could be more potential for crimes at times, but nothing to indicate a big upswing in crime,” said Weimer.

Since April student have received five MU alerts for a shooting, bomb threat, and robberies.

“We have seen where you get two or three over a two to three week period and people thought at the time there was a massive upswing in crime, but no it was just unfortunately several things that happened right there around the same time,” said Weimer.

Of the five alerts sent to students in the past month, only two of them happened directly on campus, the others in the surrounding area.