Campus and the surrounding area saw less crime than during the spring and fall semesters, but summer crime rates have risen for the second year.

Mandi Johnson, former communications officer for the WKU Police Department, said that lack of student traffic during the summer always accounts for a decrease in crime compared to fall or spring semesters.

“Whenever the students go home for the summer, our numbers reduce.” she said, “Our population is there, but it’s not as intense and heavy as it is during the school year.”

Last semester, there were 183 reports of illegal activity by the WKU Police Department. During the summer, however, there were only 89 reports. Of the 89, only 22 occurred on the main campus, while the remaining incidents occurred on streets surrounding campus such as Chestnut and East 13th Avenue.

“Our number one problem is theft,” she said. 

Although crime decreases overall after students leave, criminal activity over the summer is slightly rising. With 89 reports, this marks the second year in a row where crime at and around WKU has increased over the summer. Summer 2012 saw 86 reports of criminal activity, and 82 in 2011.