A Syracuse University student was robbed in a parking lot near the Science and Technology Library parking lot on Tuesday night, Department of Public Safety officials said.

The victim, while talking on her cell phone alone, was grabbed from behind by a man with a metallic object in his hand, believed to be a knife, said Marlene Hall, director of Public Safety.

The victim sustained a minor cut to the inside of her right forearm and bruises when she was thrown to the ground, said Lt. Joe Cecile of the Syracuse Police Department. The suspect did not seek medical attention.

The suspect stole the victim’s cell phone and black leather purse, said Capt. Drew Buske of Public Safety. The purse contained $30 in cash, a debit card and a credit card.

The victim was not sexually assaulted in any way, Hall said.

‘As far as we can tell, the purpose or the primary targets were the things she was carrying,’ Hall said.

Witnesses saw the suspect run through the Quad towards Interstate 81, Hall said. One witness saw the suspect drop the cell phone and said, ‘Hey, buddy, you dropped your cell phone,’ according to a police report. No witness interviewed by the police witnessed the actual crime.

The suspect is described as a 20- to 22-year-old black man, who is about six feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds, Cecile said. He was last seen wearing black cargo pants, a black sweatshirt and a black do-rag on his head.

Syracuse police currently has no indication if the suspect is an SU student, Cecile said. The Syracuse police currently has no suspects, but is currently interviewing witnesses.

This most recent robbery came months after a relative decline in their frequency compared to an outbreak of robberies at the beginning of the school year, Hall said. Crime rates tend to increase when temperatures rise and during the holidays because more people are outside.

In addition to milder weather, people may be protecting themselves from crime better by traveling in groups at night due to increased awareness, Cecile said.

‘Crime prevention is a big part of it,’ Cecile said. ‘Perhaps robbers aren’t getting the opportunity to commit the crimes.’

Hall said she thinks there were more witnesses who have not spoken with the Syracuse Police yet.

‘There were so many people out there; somebody had to have seen something,’ Hall said.

Witnesses may submit information anonymously through Syracuse University’s new anonymous witness program, EthicsPoint, accessible from the Public Safety Web site, Hall said.

‘Anonymous information can sometimes crack a case,’ said Stephen Colicci, director of Internal Audit at Audit and Advisory services.

The EthicsPoint program was made available in late March because the audit committee of the board of trustees recommended installing it, Colicci said. An updated anonymous witness system was originally considered for reporting financial complaints, but the system allows for reports of criminal activity as well.

‘The EthicsPoint system would accommodate for reporting an incident like this,’ Colicci said.

The updated anonymous witness system allows witnesses not only to submit an anonymous tip, but also to receive follow-up questions by checking the Web site periodically, Hall said.

‘There is a way to communicate back and forth,’ Collicis said. ‘The old system was the one-time, one-way communication between reporter and public safety. … I really do believe it’s a really big improvement over the previous system.’

To ensure anonymity, the EthicsPoint system is maintained by EthicsPoint Inc., a company based in Portland, Ore., Hall said.

EthicsPoint has not received any reports since it was implemented, Colicci said.

‘I’m not sure how aware the rest of the campus might be that it is available,’ Colicci said.

The university pays an annual subscription fee for EthicsPoint, Colicci said, although he would not say how much it costs.

Non-anonymous sources are preferable though, Hall said.

‘(EthicsPoint) doesn’t preclude someone from going straight to the Public Safety office,’ Colicci said. ‘Nobody should be concerned about retaliation should they report something.’

Published on April 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm