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                         March 8, 2002

Forty-nine felony crimes were committed on West Point in the calendar year 2001, according to crime statistics compiled by the West Point Provost Marshal’s Office.

Five felony crimes were campus-related, meaning they were committed by a segment of the student body. Four being controlled substances and one property for a per capita crime data percentage of .00125 percent.

West Point Provost Marshal Lt. Col. Harry Rosenthal said that number is "exceptional low."

An even lower number is the installation-wide felony crime data per capita of .001 percent.

Per capita is really the best way to compare one community to another, the 22-year veteran of military law enforcement said.

Factoring in the transient population of West Point by combining the 5,000-person military population, 3,000 civilian employees and other community members, along with retirees and visitors.

"You are grossly underscoring yourself if you only include who lives and works on post," he said.

Felony crimes were defined as being anything that is worth more than $1,000 or where the subject could receive a one-year prison term or a $10,000 fine, said Rosenthal.

"Typically a community is interested in the felony crimes because they are the most egregious," he said.

In the calendar year 2001 installation-wide West Point had 15 property crimes, 13 crimes against persons, 11 Driving Under the Influences, eight controlled substances and two trespassing felonies.

Most of our DUIs are caught at the gate, he said.

Rosenthal said that the eight controlled substances are mostly when people come up "hot" on urinalysis tests.

Felonies are commonly broken down into categories that include crimes against property, such as stolen items like cars or a computer. Crimes against people like assault, domestic violence and all driving under the influence are generally lumped together, Rosenthal said.

Then there is always an "Other" category, which Rosenthal explained in West Point’s case last year was trespassing.

He said the West Point Military Police and its National Guard augmentees, namely the 200-person 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry from New York City and Long Island, face a three-pronged mission of protecting the installation, the collegiate community and the monuments in and around the academy.

The Provost Marshal’s office makes quarterly reviews of basic crime data statistics and has found that crime on West Point has "stayed steady."

Rosenthal said, "there is a very low crime rate bandwidth for this community on West Point year after year."