Crime decreased from 31 incidents on the Arnold campus in 2022 to 29 in 2023, according to the AACC Department of Public Safety and Police’s annual report.
Stalking incidents decreased from eight to three on the Arnold campus over the year. Larceny was the most prevalent crime in 2023, with eight incidents.
“A lot of these [larceny incidents] are crimes of opportunity,” Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer said. “People leave a cell phone or some iPods or something like that laying [around and] they leave it behind and it makes them, you know, an easy victim for a thief.”
Kapfhammer added: “I don’t really think [eight is] a very high number but of course I always like to see zero. … We always strive to lower those numbers as best we can but you’re not going to be able to stop every crime.”
According to Kapfhammer, his department publishes an annual security report every year because the Clery Act, a federal statute signed into law in 1990, requires it.
“This is a safe campus and I would never hesitate to recommend somebody coming here,” Kapfhammer said. “I [would] feel fine sending my own children here.”
According to Kapfhammer, crime rates “generally remain consistent year to year.”
For example, police responded to six calls for disorderly conduct–the second most-common crime–on the Arnold campus in 2023, the same number as the prior year.
“I would like to think it has something to do with [us] putting the right people at the right place [and] at the right times to deter crime,” Kapfhammer said. “We have such a heavy police force enforcement here [with] high visibility.”
Kapfhammer added: “Also, I believe it’s a nice area. The whole area itself doesn’t have a lot of crime.”
Despite this, Kapfhammer said the campus police are always “on the lookout for things that seem out of place or suspicious.”
Kapfhammer said students also should remain vigilant.
“[Be] aware of your surroundings,” Kapfhammer said. “If you feel unsafe at night and you want somebody to walk you to your car, give us a call anytime. We’ll be glad to escort you.”
Olivia Wu, a second-year business administration student, said the Arnold campus has “a lot of peace.”
“I think they’re doing a really great job,” Wu said of the campus police. “I feel pretty safe on campus.”
First-year business administration student Kade Dian, an international resident from Mozambique, agreed, saying AACC students should be more appreciative of the low crime rate on campus.
Last week “there was a little boy that was trying to go to school … and he got shot by police” in Mozambique, Dian said. “It’s not the people shooting [other] people, it’s the police shooting people.”
Dian added: “The students here in the United States should be more grateful for the opportunities you all have. … If I had a good quality education [in Mozambique], trust me, I would not leave my country.”
