Over the last couple years, campus crime has gone down in numbers, making Kent State one of the safest campuses in the nation.

In six of the past 10 years, the university has had fewer reports of violent crimes than any other public university in Ohio, according to FBI uniform statistics.

Police Chief John Peach said over the last couple years, and continuing this semester, even less crime has been reported.

The most common crimes on campus are theft and liquor law violations, according to 2004 Campus Crime Act Statistics. Since 2002, theft reported on campus and liquor law violations are down.

“I would like to believe that we’re more vigilant as a university of making people more conscious of their valuables and themselves,” Peach said.

According to statistics, drug abuse violations are the only crimes rising.

Peach said the campus police station is working with the Western Portage County Drug Task Force to deal with the problem.

The university has always been safe, but it is too early to tell if the trend will continue this year, Peach said.

“Compared to other universities, we have a relatively low crime rate and we always have,” Peach said. “We are not located in an urban area, so people don’t have access to Kent State to victimize it.”

Contact safety reporter Sean Joseph at [email protected].