State College Borough Council showed its support for the university's revised off-campus code of conduct policy presented by Joseph Puzycki, director of Judicial Affairs, last night.

The policy, which enables the university to punish students academically for minor and major crimes they commit off campus, was revised and strengthened two years ago after three downtown riots, Puzycki said.

"Some believe we may have helped lower the crime rate," he said.

He cited a 5 percent drop in the ratio of student to non-student crime committed off campus during a one-year period since the revision.

Council member James Meyer pointed out that there was an increase of about 160 student crimes during the same period, but State College Police Chief Tom King said this was because of a rise in violations of alcohol laws.

"When officers are not busy with more serious calls, they have more time to focus on alcohol-related offenses," King said.

Neither King nor Puzycki could say for sure whether the change in Judicial Affairs' policy directly affected the crime rate, but Puzycki said he hopes to see the trend continue.

Puzycki said the revised policy has fostered better communication between Judicial Affairs and the police department. He added that many of his counterparts at Big Ten universities have expressed frustration in this area of town and gown relations.

"We have a system set up now where that relationship is very good," he said.

Council President Richard McCarl asked whether it would be double jeopardy for the university to punish students in addition to criminal charges that are filed.

Puzycki said Judicial Affairs hearings are not the same as a criminal trial.

"We are dealing with the rules and regulations of the university. We have an obligation to keep our campus and our community safe," Puzycki said. "I would bet my next paycheck that most of the students would agree."

Minor violations such as carrying an open alcoholic container, which were previously not handled by Judicial Affairs under the old policy, now warrant a written warning for the first offense and a formal disciplinary hearing for the second offense, Puzycki said. This was the policy's major change, and Puzycki said an online survey of students showed that most agreed with the shift.

"Before we moved forward with this policy, we put a questionnaire out there to see how we should respond to these violations. It validates what we actually are doing," Puzycki said, citing that nearly 70 percent of students would handle minor violations in the same manner.

Council member Cathy Dauler, "The university really did make an effort to inform the students of what you were doing. I'm really happy that this occurred."

Ian Rosenberger, Undergraduate Student Government president, said his office has not yet received many calls or complaints from students about Judicial Affairs or the policy change.

"Regardless of whether you're going to get busted by Judicial Affairs, students should always remember that when they go out they represent Penn State," Rosenberger said.