University liquor referrals outpace Harvard, Yale

Though the number of liquor law arrests at the University increased in 2008, from two to 10, the number is still much smaller than the number of arrests for such violations at Princeton’s peer schools. Harvard documented 25 arrests for liquor law violations, and Yale reported the most, 29.

Despite the relative dearth of liquor law-related arrests at the University, judicial referrals for liquor law violations are much more prevalent at Princeton. Judicial referrals, which are not of public record, give officers an alternative to making an arrest in cases where university resources may be used to address and correct behavior. There were 60 such referrals at Yale and 25 at Harvard, but the figure at Princeton stands at 109.

Though the number of arrests for liquor law violations is higher at peer institutions, there were 15 arrests at Princeton for drug violations, compared with 14 at Harvard and only six at Yale. The number of drug abuse referrals is higher at the University as well, with 47 cases, compared to 14 at Harvard and two at Yale.

Burglary cases are highest at Harvard, with 231 instances reported in 2008. The number of burglary cases at the University was 58 in 2008, seven more than Yale’s 51 reported cases. Yale’s statistics showed a sharp decrease in burglaries, from 103 cases in 2007 to 51 in 2008.

Though the on-campus crime statistics do not indicate consistent trends, there are higher crime rates on the public property surrounding Harvard and Yale than in the area surrounding Princeton, according to statistics released by the Harvard University Police Department and the Yale University Police Department.

The University’s 2009 Annual Security Report reported no instances of sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft or arson on public property in Princeton. The Harvard University Police Department’s report, however, reported 14 sex-offense cases, 12 cases of robbery, 12 aggravated assaults, five cases of burglary and 11 cases of motor vehicle theft in public property, while Yale’s report showed one sex-offense case, 11 cases of robbery, one aggravated assault and seven motor vehicle thefts.

“I’ve never felt unsafe in the Princeton community,” Katie Meidell ’12 said, adding that “Princeton’s location in a residential area adds a sense of security compared to schools in big cities.”

Princeton Borough and Princeton Township together have a population of 30,000 with a median family income of more than $100,000. Princeton, N.J., was named the 15th best place to live in the United States by CNN and Money magazine in 2005. Yale’s campus is located in New Haven, Conn., the second-largest city in its state with a population of 125,000. It has a median family income of just $35,000. Cambridge, Mass., is a city of more than 100,000 with a median family income of around $50,000.

Erica Blonde, a sophomore at Yale University, said that Yale’s location doesn’t make her feel “extremely unsafe.”

“My feeling on Yale-New Haven safety is that, if no one had told me about how unsafe New Haven was, I wouldn’t think twice about it,” she said. “As long as you’re using urban common sense, there’s really not much to worry about.”