Booze, Drugs Top Local College Crimes

Liquor and drug violations far outpace any other illegal activity on four Morris County college campuses, according to annual reports filed by the schools.

The reports are filed under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act by the College of St. Elizabeth, County College of Morris, and . The reports are available to the public at each school.

In 2010, the latest figures available, Drew recorded 287 liquor law violations that were referred for college disciplinary action or judicial review as crimes, and 12 drug arrests.

Fairleigh-Dickinson recorded 53 liquor incidents and four drug-related events in dormitories that were referred for college action that year. There were 13 liquor related arrests in dorms, two others recorded on the campus, five drug arrests in dorms and 11 other drug violations.

At the Randolph campus of the county college, in 2010 there were nine liquor law violations and one arrest for drug possession. At , which is 2010 was at Headquarters Plaza on Speedwell Avenue, there were two liquor related arrests, and three drug possession arrests.

St. Elizabeth’s recorded 12 liquor law violations that were referred to the college for action.

Colleges are always balancing security and access, said Kathleen Buck, vice president and dean for student life at St. Elizabeth’s in Florham Park and Morris Township.

“We are an open campus,” she said.

The campus is open during the day for classes, and in the evening for additional events, including events attended by the general public, and all the Morris campuses are open during summer breaks for classes, camps and other events.

But St. Elizabeth’s, like its neighbors FDU and Drew, provides more visible security measures as the daytime hours become evening, and even more overnight, she said.

Two recent incidents at Drew highlight examples of campus incidents.

On Nov. 11, . The teen was charged with aggravated assault, and the teen and two others were charged with criminal trespassing.

On Dec. 3, , police reports said. Dave Muha, a spokesman for Drew University, said at the time of the incident that the public safety officers have the right to question people walking on campus after the gates close at 8 p.m. "The grounds are private," Muha said.

, 21, of Sparta, who was found unresponsive in a friend’s dorm room andf later died at an area hospital.

The university's guest policy requires overnight visitors to register with the school's Office of Public Safety, and provide their permanent address and phone number. A university spokesman would not say whether Parisi had registered, citing the ongoing investigation

Drew, like all the area colleges, maintains a close relationship with their local public safety and law enforcement officials.

Buck said the relationships involve more than arrests and patrols, but extends to public safety incidents, and training for regional disaster drills.

Last summer the college hosted a drill that simulated an attack at the school involving six suspects who took hostages, she said.

The college is also in regular contact with nearby Morristown Municipal Airport, Buck said, because the college is under flight paths to the airport.

Harvey Jackson, the public safety officer at the county college, deals with security at two separate campuses.

CCM’s main campus is in Randolph, and a second campus is in Morristown.

Security issues at the Morristown campus have been nearly eliminated, he said, since this year the college moved to Morris County’s Schuyler Building from Headquarters Plaza adjacent to the Hyatt hotel on Speedwell Avenue.

Jackson said even before the move the Morristown campus had different security concerns, related to the location of the school in a hotel/retail environment.

While that location was an issue, because the Morristown campus served mostly an older continuing education type of student, the security issues were minimized.

“This was a business education school with older students,” he said.

The Randolph campus serves a larger, more diverse student body, he said. It is a group that tends to drive to the school and attends classes at all hours.

Still, he said, “this is not a high-crime area.”

Jackson said he has hired many former municipal police officers to fill out his security force.

He said he reminded them that security at the college campus is about presence and observation.

He said recent crimes on campus have been detected because the officers are trained observers.

“I took away their hard clubs and big flashlights and told them that if they can’t talk to people, they can’t work here,” Jackson said.

Crimes on College Campus