BERKLEY, Calif. – University of California, Berkeley Police Department (UCPD) officials are reporting an increase in group robbery crime on campus so far this year.
The “group” aspect of these robberies are described as involving two or more suspects, usually juveniles, working as a gang. This increase comes on the heels of 30 group robberies being reported from August to December 2006, more than doubling the amount reported in 2003, according to UCPD crime statistics.
The Berkeley Police Department does not see the increase as significant enough to be viewed as a growing trend. Group robberies are accounted by city police as typical of university/college campus crime, with these increases not warranting extra concern when compared against city robbery statistics, in groups or as individuals.