By Kyeland Jackson —

 

Crimes on and around campus were highly publicized this year, casting a poor light on U of L’s ranking as the 20th safest university on Collegechoice.net. Drinking further battered campus security’s high marks as hundreds have been cited and dozens arrested for liquor-law violations in the past five years. The Cardinal reviews the semester of crime and incidents.

Aug. 9 – The semester began with a shooting near Bettie Johnson Hall. A non-student, reportedly the victim of a drive-by shooting outside the hall, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Louisville Metro Police, who responded to the incident alongside University of Louisville Police, said the suspect was not caught.

Aug. 10 – A former cheerleader was killed in drunk driving incident. Bradley Caraway, the driver of the vehicle, was jailed after being found miles away from the scene. Shanae Moorman cheered for U of L from 2010-2013. “We are so grateful for the time we had Shanae here with us,” Spirit Coordinator Todd Sharp said. “She will forever be loved and missed.” Caraway has since been charged with murder and remains in jail.

Sept. 16-23 – A string of violent crimes, including armed robberies and sexual assaults, occurred near campus. By the end of the week, all three suspects were found and charged in the assaults.

A Cardinal Twitter poll found 60 percent of responders did not feel safe on and around campus after the incidents. Eighteen percent felt safe and 22 percent said they were not concerned about the situation. The week pushed students to ask U of L to take action.

In response, campus security was increased near Old Louisville. SGA Services Vice President Lauren Greenwell met with Chief Financial Officer Harlan Sands, ULPD Police Chief Wayne Hall and Dean of Students Michael Mardis to discuss solutions. Possible remedies included adding another security officer and streamlining communication between ULPD and LMPD.

The Cardinal found campus security averaged higher response times as opposed to LMPD, yet crime rates around campus, in areas like Old Louisville, remained higher than on-campus rates.

Oct. 8Campus escort services fell short this semester, prompting almost 20 separate complaints of up to two hour wait times. ULPD Major Aaron Graham said the U of L’s Department of Public Safety has known of the concerns for at least eight months, prompting campus administration to search for solutions. Campus security worked to streamline the service, starting with clarifying campus escort protocol to officers and dispatchers.

Oct. 14Two students dodged an alleged carjacking attempt near The Clubhouse apartments. The students were seated in their car when two black males, one armed with a handgun, approached the vehicle. The suspect tapped the car window with the gun, as the other approached before the student drove away and met with UPLD officers.

Minutes earlier, two non-students were allegedly carjacked by suspects matching the descriptions of suspects in the case. A LMPD officer spotted the stolen vehicle, arresting the three suspects who were found with reportedly stolen items. Two of the suspects were juveniles. The third suspect, Seth Irakoze, was charged with two counts of robbery, one count of wanton endangerment and one count of criminal mischief.

Oct. 19 – A non-student reported an attempted robbery near The Arch apartments, saying the suspect fled after the victim brandished mace. The suspect, who allegedly demanded the victim’s purse and struck her before fleeing, was not apprehended.

Oct. 22 – A global cyber attack hit home, as U of L’s Rave alert system was incapacitated Oct. 22. Distributed denial of service attacks flooded domain name systems across the world with traffic, impeding normal functions.

Rave Guardian, Rave panic button and Smart911 functions were affected by the attack. U of L Spokesperson John Drees was unsure if this had ever happened to the university. The attacks hit servers across the world, targeting DNSs controlling VISA, Paypal and Twitter among others.

Oct. 31 – A campus health program reinstated its mission to arrest drinking rates, a lingering problem on U of L’s campus. Hundreds have been cited and dozens arrested for alcohol-related infractions in the past five years. The Building Resilience in Campus Community Coalition program aims to deter drinking rates on campus, offering prevenative counseling, information and resources.

Regardless of campus security’s high marks, drinking rates have remained a problematic source of crime, comprising most of ULPD’s citations.

Collegechoice.net marked U of L a zero percent on party culture grade. “The University of Louisville received a zero percent grade for its party scene, meaning compared to the top few schools on our list, it received one hundred percent (or more) alcohol infractions. However, compared to national averages, the University of Louisville’s party scene is relatively docile,” the site’s ranking said. In the past five years, hundreds have been cited and dozens arrested for alcohol-related infractions.

File photo / The Louisville Cardinal