Reports to the UCCS Police Department have risen from 134 to 168 compared to the spring 2025 semester, however, the crime rate has decreased due to a lower enrollment, according to Michael Schaller, the campus police lieutenant.
He also said reports have risen because the police are recording certain incidents that don’t normally require a case report to help inform the CARE team when they fill in for unavailable officers.
The most common reports involve traffic accidents, theft and trespassing. Overall, the crime rate has decreased, which Schaller attributes to a lower student population.
Traffic Accidents
Non-injury traffic accidents have been the most common report this spring with 30 documented incidents.
According to Schaller, this commonly happens in campus parking lots, such as bumping into a car while backing out.
There has been one report of an auto accident involving a pedestrian, which resulted in minor injuries, but the incident was handled by the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Theft
Reports of general items, like computer mice, keyboards, and backpacks, being stolen have become more common, according to Schaller.
Theft from unstaffed markets, such as the student store in University Hall, has been an issue this semester. Students take items and pay electronically, but the managing company noticed their inventory did not match the recorded sales, prompting a police report.
Similarly, Schaller said that in the last few weeks there have been several reports involving vending machines. Campus police have arrested one suspect using security camera footage.
Bike thefts on campus have significantly decreased, which deviates from norm of it being a major issue according to Schaller.
Trespassing & Property Damage
There have been 13 reports of trespassing and 13 reports of property damage this semester.
Trespass cases usually involve people who are excluded from campus, such as those who have previous campus violations or have been expelled, individuals previously arrested on campus, and students who have been suspended.
Schaller noted some reports are tied to people discovering homeless camps on the northern side of campus along the ravine.
Schaller also spoke about property damage and criminal mischief, defining it as spray-painting or tagging buildings. Most of these incidents occur to campus infrastructure and in residence halls.
According to Schaller, liquor violations have surprisingly dropped from their usual numbers, but he also attributes this to a smaller student population living on campus.
Police sirens. Photo by Max Fleischmann on Unsplash.