The last 2 weekends the Oshkosh Police Department has taken the report of 3 assaults near the UW Oshkosh Campus.

On 11-11-12 around 3:30am a man was attacked by several other men in the 800 block of Woodland and the money he was carrying was stolen from him.

Also on 11-11-23 around 1:30am a man, was approached by another man in the area of Elmwood and Woodland. The suspect approached the victim and asked if he wanted to fight. When the victim responded “no”, he was battered by the suspect. No money was taken in this incident.

 On 11- 18-12 around 3:20am, a man was attacked by 2 men in the area of Scott & Wisconsin. His wallet and other items were stolen.

The Oshkosh Police Department does not believe that these 3 incidents are necessarily related and as with any crime the victim is never to blame; however there were similar behaviors that the victims exhibited that may have singled them out for the attack. In all three incidents the victims were walking alone in the early morning hours and were under the influence of alcohol.  In order to lessen the chances of being the target of an assault there are several precautions that people can take:

• If you are out celebrating the weekend, monitor the amount of alcohol that is consumed. A person that is staggering home drunk is a clear mark for someone looking to commit a strong armed robbery, or “mugging” as they are commonly called.
• If you have been drinking, the police department appreciates your decision to walk home, but walk home with a friend or even better, a group of friends. There is safety in numbers. Do not leave a friend to walk home on their own.
• If find yourself alone, and strangers approach you looking for the time or a smoke, do not stop for them, this is often used as a ploy to set you up for a robbery. Walk or run away, get your cell phone out and dial 911.
• Be discrete! Do not “flash cash” or brag about the money you have on you. Attempting to impress those around you will also inform would be criminals that you have significant amounts of cash on your person.

I hope that this information will help keep you safe.  Please contact the UW Oshkosh Police Department (424-1212) or the Oshkosh Police Department (236-5700) if you have any questions.