The Raleigh Police Department said Feb. 2 the number of Part I crimes in the city increased by 4 percent during 2005. Part I crimes are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.

Jim Sughrue, public information officer for the Raleigh Police Department, said larcenies account for more than half of the Part I crimes in Raleigh.

“Larcenies are by far the most common crime here and elsewhere,” Sughrue said.

The Poilice Department released the information while students begin the process of choosing their places of residence for next semester, and those looking for off-campus housing are taking safety into consideration.

Most apartment complexes have off-duty police officers that either live in the complex or ride through the property at night, as well as security intrusion alarms with personal codes.

“I feel that [our residents] are very safe,” Kelli Luckadoo, a senior in communication and employee at Wolf Creek, an apartment complex located off Hillsborough Street, said. “If they have any complaints they’ll come up here, and they have 24-hour access to the police officers.”

A representative from Dominion Walnut Creek apartments said the property is well lit, with two Raleigh police officers who work for the complex while off-duty. The representative declined to comment on residents’ feelings about safety and actions they can take if they feel unsafe.

Michael Heath, a junior in computer science, lives at University Woods and said he feels safe living there.

“The worst thing that happens here is just wild parties,” he said. “I haven’t seen any real safety issues.”

Luckadoo said crimes such as theft and break-ins are rare at Wolf Creek.

“I wouldn’t say they’re more common than any other complex,” she said. “It’s a rare thing — it’s not like a car is being broken into everyday.”

Seghrue said many students leave their cars unlocked, or lock their cars but leave valuables in view, which is an invitation for theft.

“Most of the people who commit crimes are opportunists,” he said. “They’re like predators in the wild — they look for the easy target and the available opportunity.”

One possible cause for crime is involvement in illegal activity, such as drugs, which could result in crimes more serious than theft.

“Obviously one key to avoid being a crime victim is not to be involved in anything illegal yourself,” he said. “A lot of the crime that we have relates to drug activity, for example.”

Lauren Michele Redman, a former student and lab technician at Centennial Campus, was raped and murdered in her Dominion Walnut Creek apartment on Nov. 8. Police believe the killing was drug-related.

“The problem areas tend to be areas where street drug sales and street prostitution take place, and obviously those areas and the associated activities have to be avoided,” Sughrue said.

There aren’t many “hot spot” areas in Raleigh and, according to Sughrue, there are not any around campus. Sughrue declined to comment on specific “hot spot” areas.

“Raleigh is a very safe city, but no city is crime-free,” he said. “So people certainly ought to use common sense and exercise the kind of normal caution that ought to be practiced in any city.”