Campus Crime: What students really fear

Campus Crime: What students really fear
NIU student Toni Keller went missing on Oct. 14. AP/file
Campus Crime: What students really fear
NIU student Toni Keller went missing on Oct. 14. AP/file

Campus Crime: What students really fear

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The recent disappearance of freshman Toni Keller in the rural college campus of Northern Illinois University has created considerable anxiety for her parents, fellow students and school officials. Despite some high profile crimes, university campuses are thought to be relatively safe havens. And studies reveal that students themselves aren’t concerned about personal crimes so much as theft of property – their iPhones or stereos. But shootings at NIU and Virginia Tech have prompted new approaches to crime on campus. A few years ago the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority initiated a series of reports looking at campus safety. Dr. Matt Giblin is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Southern Illinois University. He co-authored one of the studies which surveyed six Illinois college campuses.