This article was updated Feb. 3 at 2:15 p.m.

The high number of crimes reported in 2009 has some students worried.

Lauren Hostert, junior in LAS, said that her friend’s porch was broken into and his bike was stolen. The incident occurred in Urbana, one block away from where she lives.

Her boyfriend also lives in the area of Champaign where many of the recent crimes have occurred.

She said that the high rate of crimes has affected her behavior. “It prevents me from wanting to go out late at night alone,” she added.

There were more crime alerts in 2009 than average in the Champaign-Urbana community, said Jeff Christensen, Deputy Chief of the University Police Department. In previous years there were numbers as low as nine alerts. In 2009 there was 60 alerts, nine being in the month of December alone. There is no sure factor or reason for why crime has increased, Christensen said.

“I think it’s a shame for a college town like us to have such crime issues,” said Matt Zappulla, sophomore in Engineering.

A recent crime includes an attempted robbery Jan. 26 at approximately 6:45 p.m. in parking lot D-9, in the 900 block of Illinois Street near Lincoln and Green streets. An unknown subject demanded money from a victim and attempted to hit the victim. The victim fought off the attacker and the subject fled, according to the crime alert issued by the University police.

The Champaign Police Department is currently investigating the crime.

Champaign and University Police are actively working to reduce crime, Christensen said.

“In December we did arrest some individuals that were responsible for the robberies, but we have no crystal ball to determine if the problems will decrease or not,” he said.

Christensen encouraged individuals to be careful, especially late at night, and to utilize campus resources.

“We send out the crime alerts in order to protect students and also encourage everyone to not hesitate to call 911 if they feel threatened,” Christensen said. “Some people call because they believe that somebody is walking too close to them and that is okay. We are ready to respond and then we will be there to protect the students.”

Chief of Police Barbara O’ Connor stated that, while the crime rate this past December was greater than previous years, the overall crime level has not had such a dramatic increase as is believed. “We have moved to the new system of alerting students through e-mail, which they check fairly often. Crime has not gone up as dramatically as they may think. They are just more aware now of the crimes that are occurring,” said Chief O’Connor.

Chief O’Connor is glad that students are more aware now. They can be more vigilant, which is required, as more students carry valuable and expensive items such as their laptops and other technological items.

With campus crime on the rise, SafeRides can be a useful tool.

Students can call SafeRides when they need to get home at night, and they are not near a bus route. The main purpose of SafeRides is to get students safely from point A to point B, said Jan Kijowski, marketing director for the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD).

“You don’t ever have to walk alone if you don’t want to,” she said.

There are three SafeRides vans, and they operate every night of the week when the University is in session.

In September 2009, SafeRides gave about 5,000 rides. In October of that year the service provided more than 7,000 rides and in November 2009 SafeRides gave more than 5,000 rides to students, Kijowski said. SafeRides provides an average of 2,000 to 3,000 rides per week.

Some bus routes also operate late into the night, such as the Teal Route and the 22 Illini Route, Kijowski said.

Kijowski encourages students to take advantage of SafeRides in order to get home safely. While Hostert said she had never used SafeRides because she was in an area where she could be picked up by a bus, Zappulla noted several girls who use SafeRides.

Even though the recent crime has scared her, Hostert said that she does not feel too concerned.

“U of I is generally a very safe campus, and they do a lot to keep us safe,” she said.

Another burglary was reported at Hopkins Hall, 103 E. Gregory st. in Urbana. A room was burglarized and two wallets were stolen. The unknown suspect stole credit cards, $37 and identification. The subject charged $124.55 worth of merchandise at nearby establishments.

In addition, a crime alert was released by the University surrounding a recent attempted robbery and battery in the 300 block of East Springfield Avenue in Champaign. Injuries sustained by the victim included soreness, scrapes and bruising.

Another crime alert was issued Jan. 31 regarding a battery and attempted robbery in front of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St. in Urbana. The incident occurred at 3:40 a.m. The victim reported that he was demanded to empty his pockets to two offenders and when he refused, the subjects threatened to shoot him. The victim was beaten and received a minor cut on his lip but refused medical treatment. The subjects fled the scene.

A public safety town hall meeting will be held Feb. 8 in Noyes Lab room 100 at 7 p.m to elevate student awareness related to crime prevention. A panel composed of campus and state police officers will be there to answer campus safety questions along with Sen. Michael Frerichs and state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson.

“Over the last few months, we have witnessed a rise in criminal activity in our communities. This town hall meeting is a perfect opportunity to arm students with the knowledge they need to prevent themselves from becoming crime victims,” Jakobsson said. “I urge anyone – students, faculty, and concerned residents alike – to come out to this forum and ask questions of our experienced panel.”

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This article was contributed to by Stephanie Tussing, Melissa Elegant, and Svjetlana Stojanovic.