Decoding the Blotter

In order for DePaul students to keep track of the different crimes on campus - from which student dorms had people illegally smoking or drinking last night, to bigger incidents, like assaults or robberies on campus, the Public Safety Department puts together a weekly blotter.

I'm going to put it in here and explain it to you, but you can also check it out every week in The DePaulia, (DePaul's student run-newspaper for which I just happen to be the Two Cents Editor. Yep. Shameless plug, right there in my blog: Read our paper!)

Back to the blotter. On the Public Safety Web site, I was able to get a rundown of the crimes that happened last week in Lincoln Park:

January 28 Lot H Theft of Vehicle
January 28 1150 W. Fullerton Criminal Damage
January 28 University Hall Fire Alarm
January 29 S.A.C. Elevator Entrapment
January 29 900 W. Belden Suspicion of Marijuana
January 30 Munroe Hall Suspicious Activity
January 30 S.A.C. Criminal Damage
January 30 Sanctuary Hall Harassment
January 31 Byrne Hall Fire Alarm
*Reports are not all verified

Here's the Loop crimes:

January 28 DePaul Center Theft
January 28 DePaul Center Criminal Trespass
January 31 DePaul Center Retail Theft
*Reports are not all verified

The Web site just has a listing of all the crimes, but if you check out The DePaulia (comes out every Friday afternoon,) you'll find a fancy map of Lincoln Park with every building on campus and with crime listings for the week. Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner so I cannot show you what the blotter looks like - but to describe - a campus map with a key describing each building (i.e. library, Seton Hall, S.A.C.) and then a listing of crimes. Pretty nifty - and it helps keep you updated on what happened where and when.

For more serious alerts - like robberies at gunpoint or assaults, Safety Alert flyers are posted around campus - on dorms and buildings, these brightly-colored pieces of paper describe the incident, list a description of the offender if one was given, and offer contact information for who to contact at the police department should you have any information.