<p>"Posted on May 7, 2012 at 12:04 PM</p>
<p>Updated yesterday at 5:21 PM </p>
<p>HOUSTONA Rice University student was robbed at gunpoint on campus Sunday night.</p>
<p>Around 9 p.m., two suspects approached a student in an on-campus parking lot, near Entrance 23 off of Sunset Blvd., and pointed a gun at him.</p>
<p>They demanded the students keys and wallet, and took $120 from him before returning the wallet.</p>
<p>Rice University Police Chief Johnny Whitehead said the event was unusual, because the campus typically sees property crimes, rather than robbery.</p>
<p>'I like to remind people of the campus community that we are in a major city,' said Whitehead. "We have an open campus and they should always be aware of their surroundings and be cautious."</p>
<p>Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to contact RUPD at713-348-6000."</p>
<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the third robbery/attempted robbery on campus since January-- two at gunpoint and the other guy was jumped. Does this seem like a high number of robberies/attempted robberies on the Rice campus? Or would this be typical of a 5-month period?</p>
<p>Also, why are some of these not shown the RUPD crime log? I thought the Clery Act required these crimes to be reported. Is it because one of them was a consultant and not a student?</p>
<p>I want to say one of those three attempts was late last semester, but maybe I’m wrong. Either way, I find it highly unusual because last semester there were no problems at all (unless I’m correct in that one attempt having been made last semester as opposed to this one).</p>
<p>No, the earliest report was in January:</p>
<p>“In January, a consultant for the university fought off two attackers in an early morning robbery attempt near another campus entrance on Main Street at Wiess College. The men fled after the victim fought back, striking one of the men with his computer case.”</p>
<p>I’m confused as to why a bigger deal is not being made out of this. Basically there have been three of these in a four-month period.</p>
<p>They are probably the same criminals. Seriously, is there enough campus security visible? Now I’m worried sending my freshman son there this August! Of course Houston is a major city, but the latest crime was on campus!</p>
<p>In terms of security, Rice is a whole lot better off than it was, say, 20 years ago. And besides, security expectations are all relative. For example, at Rice someone might steal your laptop, but at certain elite universities in the Northeast, you’ll get your laptop stolen right out of your lap. At high noon.</p>
<p>That being said, Rice needs to find a way to crack down on this current spree. In general, Rice students tend to be… um… “soft” targets, so RUPD does have to be hyper-aware of any shady characters/activity.</p>
<p>And RedYellowBlue, don’t worry about your son. There are so many schools that are far, far more dangerous than Rice. Just make sure your son exercises some common sense and goes out late at night with a buddy or two in tow.</p>
<p>I went to Rice for four years and more often than not went running around the campus and the surrounding area in the wee hours of the morning (and by wee hours, I mean 1-2 AM). I was never once concerned about being ambushed. But then again, I have been in more than a few scraps in my life and look like I can take care of myself.</p>
<p>Rice really needs to beef up the RUPD website information. For example, when I pull up the link for “Crime Stats” on their site map I am presented with crime statistics from 1992-2002. </p>
<p>And I wish that, when I click on the “Statistical Information” under the RUPD Safety section, I were presented with something more recent than the 2010 stats.</p>
<p>I live at the college where the robbery happened (well, next to where it happened - let’s just say my car was in that parking lot) and my bet is that these robbers knew school was out for the summer and were looking for easy targets. I don’t think they would have dared to come so close to the colleges otherwise.</p>
<p>I (female) have also gone running on campus alone late at night, walked back and forth across campus late at night and have never felt unsafe. RUPD maintains a strong presence and it’s easy to get a ride from them at night if you do feel unsafe for some reason - I’ve had officers stop and offer to drive me, or to warn me to get a lantern on my bike or whatever.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reassuring posts. My son has a lot of common sense minimzing his risk of becoming a victim.</p>
<p>Why doesn’t Rice have security cameras in their parking lots? The fact that these are armed robberies is really concerning. Seems like there needs to be some undercover work to stop these guys. Maybe the Houston and West University police need to be brought in.</p>
<p>^^I spoke with the Police Chief of RUPD - probably Johny Whitehead - but may have been his predecessor - when my son started at Rice two years ago. It was a very disappointing conversation. I felt like I was in California in the 1960s. He made it clear that he felt that the less he does to fight crime, the less crime there will be.</p>
<p>When I asked about setting up cameras to monitor approaches to the campus he just pretty much brushed me off as if I was a leper. His illogic was the old liberal ploy of truth by assertion: It’s true because I say so. You just can’t talk to people like that.</p>
<p>But I hear that he is very good at towing cars for minor parking infractions.</p>
<p>My only point of comparison is that of UT-Austin. Parents there (or anyone) can sign up for their daily crime log. Most of the incidents reported have to do with stolen bikes and alcohol infractions, but there is occasionally something more serious. I have never seen 3 robberies reported in one semester, but perhaps not everything is reported to the UT campus police. Still, it is nice that the information they have is made available to parents and/or students on a daily basis.</p>
<p>My beef with the Rice campus police is that it APPEARS that they are downplaying these incidents. For example, here is the recent response regarding the latest (5/6) attack:</p>
<p>“Rice University Police Chief Johnny Whitehead said the event was unusual, because the campus typically sees property crimes, rather than robbery. ‘I like to remind people of the campus community that we are in a major city,’ said Whitehead. ‘We have an open campus and they should always be aware of their surroundings and be cautious.’”</p>
<p>OF COURSE people should be aware of their surroundings. But when I read this:</p>
<p>“An armed robbery was attempted Wednesday, April 4, around 3:20 p.m. on the sidewalk north of Rice Stadium… The employee said a man grabbed her around the neck, held a gun to her head and demanded money. After the suspect went through the victim’s purse and did not take anything, he threw the purse down, pushed the victim to the ground and fled east along the sidewalk toward West Lot No. 3.”</p>
<p>…I feel like more attention should be brought to the matter. This happened a little more than a month prior to the most recent robbery, so why is the RUPD chief calling this latest attack “unusual”. Sounds more like a pattern. Ugh. NOT a happy parent here.</p>
<p>some pepper spray in the faces of these idiots would do alot to deter crime. another good one is the wasp spray that goes 40 ft and foams up.</p>
<p>Good news!</p>
<p>"Mirrors Installed for Safety</p>
<p>Safety mirrors have been installed by the path north of Rice Stadium, which many students and employees use to access the parking lot west of the stadium."</p>
<p>I can’t post a picture, but basically it eliminates the creepy feeling when you’re alone and can’t see around the corner. This was posted on the Rice News web page on Friday and makes no reference to the recent attacks, but I will assume it is related.</p>
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<p>RUPD officers have full police powers throughout Harris County. That would be entirely unnecessary.</p>
<p>@bird rock: Chief Whitehead was just hired this spring.</p>
<p>As for campus safety, I walk around campus at 4 a.m. on my own frequently and feel completely safe. Regardless of the time of day/night, I generally pass at least one RUPD car or officer when walking around campus, even when I’m not going very far.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard about other schools, Rice is much safer in terms of your personal belongings as well. Students leave backpacks, laptops, etc. in public areas in the colleges for short periods (e.g., while eating dinner) quite frequently and without much risk of theft. Haphazardly leaving your stuff around is still stupid, but you can rest assured that your belongings need not be chained to your wrist at all times.</p>