Armed robberies top the list of the most common crimes committed against members of Tulane and Loyola universities. At least that’s the verdict from a Jan. 16 panel discussion, which brought people from both universities together to discuss crime in the university-area neighborhoods.

Loyola Police Chief Patrick Bailey joined Tulane police and Maj. Kirk Bouyelas, New Orleans Police Department’s Second District commander, in a discussion on what can be done about the area’s recent increase in crime. Kevin Bailey, assistant vice president of student affairs at Tulane, moderated the meeting.

Bailey and Tulane’s Col. Jack Leblanc began the meeting, held at Tulane’s Rogers Memorial Chapel, by announcing Tulane and Loyola’s crime statistics for the fall semester.

Leblanc reported that Tulane students experienced five armed robberies within a four-day period. He said the university addressed the problem by placing police on 12-hour patrol and brought in extra personnel to supplement their forces.

Bailey said the crimes committed against the Loyola community for the most part mirrored the crimes against the Tulane community.

Bouyelas discussed the NOPD’s role in helping to deter crime in the Second District. He updated panel attendees on the arrest of one of the two suspects in recent armed robberies in the university area. The other suspect, Eldrin George, is still at large.

Tulane Capt. Reid Noble said students must also take part in protecting themselves from crime by not walking alone, walking in well-lit areas, staying alert and paying attention to their surroundings.

“If you come out here at night, you are going to see on Freret Street – at Friar Tuck’s Bar – one or two females walking back alone to Tulane or Loyola,” Chief Bailey said. “They shouldn’t be doing that.”

Police also suggested that students should come forward if they are victims of a crime or know if a crime has been or is going to be committed.

“How do we address this problem? We do it through education and visibility,” Bailey said.

Bailey said that Loyola has begun a “Safe Ride On-Call” program. This is a collaborative effort with Tulane to provide free rides for Loyola and Tulane members during the night, when most crimes are committed.

Two members of Loyola’s Student Government Association attended the meeting. College of Business senator LeeAnn Moss, international business sophomore, and senior senator-at-large Casey Trahan, political science senior, agreed that the meeting was informative. However, they also agreed that more is needed to raise student awareness of crime.

Trahan said SGA will be making a collaborative effort in the near future with University Police to keep crimes from being committed against students.

“We are looking at what other universities do, and finding ways SGA can be proactive,” Trahan said.

Jauné Jackson can be reached at [email protected].