On the front page of the Tribune on the Sept. 21 issue, we received a fairly frightening depiction of the Milwaukee Police Department's priorities towards Marquette students.

The lead story by Andrew Johnson "Campus robberies mar last 100 hours," spoke of armed robberies that took place near campus over the weekend. Of course, crime is one of the unfortunate realities of urban life. However, if a series of armed robberies takes place within a specific area, one would think the police would, I don't know, protect and serve the people who live in that area.

Yet the police seem to not really care much about these incidents. To quote the story, "The student first contacted the Milwaukee Police Department, which then notified Public Safety of the armed robbery." Furthermore, as a resident of the area just west of campus, I have not noticed any increase in police presence, especially at night.

Now, perhaps this is simply an issue of what turf belongs to what department. For all I know, Public Safety is more qualified to prevent armed crime near campus. However, the readers of the Tribune are informed in the story directly below that MPD — and not Public Safety — is cracking down on jaywalking near campus. Apparently MPD has more of a vested interest in stopping Marquette students from crossing the street at the wrong time than in cracking down on armed robbery of the same students.

I am not writing this to say that jaywalking isn't a problem or that the law against it shouldn't be enforced. I am saying that it is perhaps some of the officers that are dedicated to stopping the jaywalking menace that is Marquette could take a later shift and help stop armed criminals.

By my unofficial count, armed robberies near campus this year outnumber students hit by traffic 2-0. It is a matter of priorities. On an urban campus such as Marquette, the resources of the police are better used at stopping violent crime than they are at stopping college students from committing minor infractions.

Buttry is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Click here to comment on this viewpoint on the Tribune Forum.