Criminal activity in the City of Kent is primarily concentrated along Franklin Avenue, Main Street, Silver Meadows Boulevard, Mantua Street and Water Street. Most of these crimes are thefts, according to 2014 crime data from the Kent Police Department. 

Both Franklin Avenue and Main Street had 52 reported crimes each, followed by 40 reported incidents on Water Street from Jan. 1 to Oct. 2, 2014. Theft is the leading crime in Kent, with 361 reported incidents this year. Franklin Avenue has had the most with 32 reported incidents.

This ranking was no surprise to Lt. Jim Prusha of the Kent Police Department. He said most police officers rely on intuition when assessing which areas to focus on.

“We tend to focus our energy on areas that we feel historically tend to have a higher crime,” Prusha said. “We don’t totally ignore the low crime areas. I mean, we owe to them to be there sometimes too. We try to do this in an informal way, just by memory and by past experiences.”

Silver Meadows Boulevard ranked third with the greatest amount of crimes with 42 in 2014 followed by Water Street with 40 reported incidents and Mantua Street with 30 incidents. 

Thefts have been the most reported crime rising from 451 in 2010 to 511 reported in 2013. 

“Usually the things that are stolen are cell phones, wallets and those kinds of things,” Prusha said. “We don’t get very many back.” 

Police data showed that 31 thefts have occurred on Franklin Avenue this year, followed by 16 thefts reported on North Mantua Street, Silver Meadows Boulevard and South Water Street. A reported 13 thefts have occurred on East Main Street and 10 on East Eric Street this year. 

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Assaults have been the most reported crime this year with 261 as of Oct. 2, 2014. Last year, 260 assaults were reported in total. 

An assault is defined as doing or attempting to do bodily harm to another person with unlawful force or violence, according to Ohio law. Most assaults in Kent occurred on Silver Meadows Boulevard with 22, followed by North Mantua Street with 12. 

Burglary has been the third most reported crime this year with 67 accounts reported. Last year, 167 burglaries were reported in total. Burglary is defined as entering a residence by force, stealth or deception.

Prusha said with theft and burglary crimes, the chances of a person getting a stolen item back depends on many things, Prusha said.

“We usually get stolen cars back,” Prusha said. When a person reports a stolen vehicle, Prusha said the Kent Police Department shares the information with surrounding agencies and lists it in LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data System).

LEADS is the statewide computerized network which provides computerized data and communications for criminal justice agencies within the state of Ohio, according to Ohio law. It is administered by the Ohio state highway patrol superintendent.

“(LEADS) is an awesome tool for the police officers to have,” Prusha said. Prusha said the department also uses LEADS when tracking stolen laptops by serial numbers.

“The problem is that usually the people who are reporting their laptops are stolen don’t remember their serial numbers,” Prusha said.

If theft occurs at a location with a camera, Prusha said police officers will then ask for a copy of the tape.

Decreased Crime in Kent

Even though reports only reflect data from Jan 1. 2014 to Oct. 2, 2014, crime has decreased in Kent within the last four years.

Prusha said he guesses that it is because of the recent collaborative efforts between the city and the university.

“We’ll talk with people about crime prevention, personal safety and those kinds of things so maybe some of that is paying off,” Prusha said.

The other reason could be the changes that have occurred at the Villages at Franklin Crossing, formerly known as Silver Meadows Apartments.

It is now managed by LoveLight, Inc., a nonprofit based in Kent, and Millennia Housing. The Villages at Franklin Crossing office declined to speak with reporters on the surrounding crimes. Residents of the complexes also declined to comment about the area’s crimes.

“This new management company is really making a lot of strong efforts to reduce problems in their complex so I think that’s helping a lot,” Prusha said.

He also said the Center of Student Involvement at Kent State has helped spread the word about crime prevention.

Todd Kamenash, assistant dean of students and director of student conduct at Kent State, said part of his job includes working on community relationships. He said he and student employees 

went door-to-door to speak with students on the streets around campus that are most heavily student-rented, he said.

“Our message was about being a good neighbor, awareness about the City of Kent and safety,” Kamenash said.

Contact Carley Hull at [email protected], Sean Eiler at [email protected], Yujing Yu at [email protected] and Mariam Makatsaria at [email protected].