Story 2 (Armed Men Abducted and Robbed WSU Student)
By Ursula Krause (@ursulamkrausew1)
Sept. 5, 2018
Last Edited Dec. 13, 2018
Related: https://medium.com/@ursulamk01/story-3-wayne-states-campus-robberies-increase-d51c082f3085
A Wayne State student was abducted and robbed while walking to school along Cass Avenue on Thursday, according to police reports. According to Wayne State University’s Campus Watch, a 21-year-old student was approached by a vehicle and threatened to give the men inside $1,000. The report said that the student told the Wayne State Police Department (WSUPD) that on that morning, three men in a gray 2016 Chevrolet Cruze stopped their car alongside him at the corner of Cass Avenue and Ferry Street. According to www.campuswatch@wayne.edu, one of the men, who the student described as a black male, 20–25 years of age, wearing a black hoodie and hat, asked the student for use of his phone. The report read that the student said he refused and the man threatened him to get into the car or there would be consequences.
The report continued that the student was driven to a gas station on Woodward Avenue and was told to make a transaction at the station’s ATM and another at the Fischer Building. The student, according to the police, withdrew his own money after both transactions were declined in fear of being hurt by the men. The student said he withdrew over $1,000 and handed it over to the men. The student told authorities that he refused to get back into the car, and the three suspects drove north down Woodward Avenue.
The WSUPD reported a steady trend of robbery between the years of 2014 and 2016 in an online report. However, their report showed a steep decrease in robbery between the years 2017 and 2018.
The statistics, published in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report by WSUPD showed that 2014 had reached 20 cases of robbery, while 2015 had 19. More of a decrease was found in 2016 with 15 reported cases, and 2017 ended with nine.
https://police.wayne.edu/annual-security-report
Lt. David Scott of WSUPD explained that while Detroit is roughly 139 square miles, WSUPD is responsible for the university’s campus and its surrounding areas.
“WSUPD covers about 5 square miles of what is commonly referred to as Midtown,” Lt. Scott said. According to the Detroit Police Department, Detroit as a whole has experienced a 17.4 percent decrease in reported robberies after 2016, similar to the decrease in robbery at WSU. Though the robberies have decreased, Lt. Scott urged students to take it upon themselves to keep the campus safe.
“The police are the tools to help prevent crime; we are not the answer to it,” he said.
Investigator Chris Powell of WSUPD said that while more people live on campus this year, WSU is still a commuter school in which the population swells on the weekdays.
“You kind of know when it’s going to get busy,” he said, while emphasizing how students must stay alert of their surroundings in order to stay safe. He warned that cell phones cause distractions and increase the risk of being robbed.
“There are pockets that are safe, and there’s the rest of the city,” Officer Powell said.
Students can also attend R.A.D., Rape Aggression Defense, a class offered by WSUPD, which teaches basic self-defense skills, including how to utilize personal weapons to drive away an attacker. When students are in an emergency situation, they should call 313–577–2222 to alert WSUPD, whose response time for service, the department said, is 90 seconds or less.
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