DPS News

Crime Definitions From The Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook

Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter: the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.  NOTE:  Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides are excluded.

Negligent Manslaughter:  the killing of another person through gross negligence.

Robbery: the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated Assault:  an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.  This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.  It is not necessary that injury result from an aggravated assault when a gun, knife or other weapon is used which could or probably would result in a serious potential injury if the crime were successfully completed.

Burglary:  The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.  For reporting purposes this definition includes: unlawful entry with intent to commit a larceny or a felony; breaking and entering with intent to commit a larceny; housebreaking; safecracking; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.

Motor Vehicle Theft:  The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. (Classify as motor vehicle theft all cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access, even though the vehicles are later abandoned – including joy riding)

Arson:  The willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property of another, etc.

Illegal Weapons Possession:  The violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices or other deadly weapons. This classification encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature. Include in this classification: manufacture, sale, or possession of deadly weapons; carrying deadly weapons, concealed or openly; using, manufacturing, etc., of silencers; furnishing deadly weapons to minors; aliens possessing deadly weapons; and attempts to commit any of the above.

Drug Law Violations: The violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance. Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs. The relevant substances include: opium or cocaine and their derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana; synthetic narcotics – manufactured narcotics which can cause true addiction (Demerol, methadone); and dangerous non-narcotic drugs (barbiturates, Benzedrine).

Liquor Law Violations:  The violation of state or local laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, or use of alcoholic beverages, not including driving under the influence and drunkenness. Include in this classification: the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, possessing, etc., of intoxicating liquor; maintaining unlawful drinking places; bootlegging; operating still; furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person; underage possession; using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor; drinking on train or public conveyance; and attempts to commit any of the above.

Sex Offenses – Forcible: Any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent. This category includes the following:

Forcible Rape is the carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of his or her youth). This offense includes the forcible rape of both males and females.

Forcible Sodomy is oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.

Sexual Assault with an Object is the use of an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate, however slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.

Forcible Fondling is the touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity. Forcible fondling includes “indecent liberties” and “child molesting.”

Sex Offenses – Non-forcible are incidents of unlawful, non-forcible sexual intercourse. Only two types of offenses are included in this definition:

Incest is non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

Statutory Rape is non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

National Stalking Awareness Month

Stalking affects 3.4 million adults in the United States each year. January is Stalking Awareness month, and both DPS and the Advocacy Center at SU are recognizing the month and working to raise awareness about the crime of stalking.To learn more about stalking – including how it’s classified and how to get help – the Stalking Awareness Month website is a fantastic resource: http://www.stalkingawarenessmonth.org/awareness.

On campus, if you have questions about stalking or if you are a victim, you can call DPS and ask for the Investigations Section at 315-443-2224 or the Advocacy Center 315-443-7273.

Finally, you can read President Obama’s Proclamation about National Stalking Awareness Month here.

 

Student Safety Videos

Thanks to the students in Professor Lawrence Popielinski’s Fall 2013 section of COM 117, we now have a series of creative new crime prevention and safety videos to share with you.

As part of a new collaboration with the Newhouse School, freshmen students in the class produced videos on a diverse range of topics, from safe travel around campus and off-campus to securing an off-campus residence over break.

You can find the videos embedded in a number of pages on our website, or you can visit our YouTube Channel for a full list of the videos.

October Is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

How can you participate? Awareness month is the perfect time to review your current cyber practices.

You can start by attending a Syracuse Univeristy Information Technology Services workshop on October 29, 11:30 a.m. in room 304 of the Schine Student Center.

Below are activities and simple tips for staying safe online.

  • NEVER leave your laptop unattended, for ANY amount of time!
  • Don’t share your passwords with others.
  • Utilize secure passwords, which include capital letters and punctuation marks randomly placed within the password.
  • Back up all of the important files on your computer, whether personal or professional.
  • Make the process of backing up your files a regular routine for the security of your machine.
  • Do not open any links in emails from people you do not know.
  • Check that your computer has current antivirus software running.
  • You can obtain free antivirus protection for your computer at:
    Avira free antivirus
    Microsoft Security Essentials
  • Use different passwords for different accounts. Do not let one compromised account open the door to your other accounts!
  • Review Syracuse University’s Information Security policy and follow it.
  • Learn about phishing attacks and be prepared the next time you receive an email asking for private, personal or sensitive information such as your bank account number, credit card number, password or social security number.
  • Regularly check your privacy settings on social networking sites.
  • Avoid revealing too much information in your posts on social media, especially about your whereabouts in the physical world. (If you post that you’re on vacation and your address is public, you have made your residence vulnerable.)
  • Read the Cyber Security Tips Newsletters, available on the DHSES OCS website.
  • Spread awareness materials through your staff, business and consumer channels.
* If your device is stolen, IMMEDIATELY contact the Department of Public Safety at 315-443-2224.

NOTE: When larcenies occur on campus, it’s usually because an item of value has been left unattended.

To minimize your risk of becoming a victim, the Department of Public Safety offers a few guidelines for keeping your possessions (especially portable electronic devices) safe:

  • Never leave your belongings unattended. It might seem safe to leave your laptop or iPhone at the library while you make a quick trip to the bathroom, but it only takes a few seconds for someone to steal your property.
  • Put your name or some other kind of identifying mark on your textbooks.
  • When at your residence hall or apartment, always keep the doors and windows locked. The same rule applies here: even if you’re just going down the hall to talk to a friend, it only takes a minute for someone to enter your room and take your stuff.
  • Be aware of your surroundings. If you see something that doesn’t look right, or someone who is not acting right, trust your instincts and report them. If you’re on-campus, call DPS at (315) 443-2224. If you’re off-campus, call the Syracuse Police Department.

If you have any questions, call our Crime Prevention Unit at (315) 443-3873.

Staff Profile: Amy Francemone

Amy Francemone
Records, Logistics and Property Manageer

Amy has worked at the Department of Public Safety for a total of 7 years, and she’s an invaluable resource in our front office because of her experience with various law enforcement records management systems.

A native of Solvay, NY, Amy started her career in law enforcement as a dispatcher for Solvay Police Department in 1991. She continued working for the service until 1998, even after it merged with Onondaga County 911. She spent some time working as a stay at home mom with her four children, but when they were school-aged, she returned to Solvay as a data entry specialist in 2004 and began working with us part-time as an Emergency Communications Center dispatcher. Her current position was created in 2008.

Amy’s job description includes filing incident, arrest, and accident reports; sending reports to various agencies, such as the DMV; entering traffic tickets into records systems; maintaining the lock/unlock schedule for campus buildings; running queries for statistics within our internal records systems; sealing arrest cases; entering supplemental documents and information into the statewide crime database; release property from the BEAST (Bar-coded Evidence Analysis Statistical Tracking); preparing a Daily Crime Log for public view; and training employees to use the databases.

Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time on Song Lake, out on her boat and at her family campsite. She’s a huge hockey fan (New York Rangers), and started playing hockey herself last year in a women’s pickup hockey league in Cicero, NY.