Students make their way around campus last year at Cal State San Marcos. The campus has had a lot crime rate for the last three years. (File Photo by Hayne Palmour IV - Staff Photographer)

SAN MARCOS ---- A Cal State San Marcos report shows what students and police already know: The quiet, tucked-away campus has enjoyed a relatively low crime rate the past three years.

Violent crimes ---- murders, robberies and assaults ---- were almost nonexistent from 2005 through 2007, according to the Clery Report, a compilation of arrests and crime statistics required annually of all colleges nationwide.

Drug and alcohol arrests, however, jumped noticeably during that period, the report shows.

Campus police made 66 drug and alcohol arrests in 2007, up from 29 two years earlier.

Burglary arrests also spiked; there were 11 in 2007, up from three in 2006 and zero in 2005.

Cal State San Marcos Police Chief Ronald Hackenberg said stepped-up enforcement accounts for the higher arrest totals.

"We aggressively target drug and alcohol offenses," said Hackenberg, who took charge of the campus police department in March 2007.

Just over 9,100 students are enrolled at the 304-acre campus. That's up from 7,500 students in fall 2005, according to campus spokeswoman Margaret Lutz.

Hackenburg said police in 2007 focused more on car burglaries after a spate of thefts and break-ins.

The department is investigating a reported sexual assault from this spring. No other major crimes have been reported this year, the chief said.

Hackenberg said he has not seen a problem on campus since roughly a dozen San Diego street gang members moved into luxury apartments across from the campus this spring. Sheriff's officials said in May that the gang members were selling drugs to students at the complex.

Hackenberg noted that at least one gang-related arrest has been made at the complex since.

Several students this week said they feel safe on campus, largely because of the strong police presence and well-lit campus.

The campus police department has 16 sworn officers plus 12 parking and commuter services staff. About 10 student community service officers add to the police presence, Hackenberg noted.

"I feel really safe," said third-year business major Luis Angeles, taking a study break Thursday outside the Kellogg Library. "We always see the police walking around, and you can always push the (emergency) blue lights."

During the three-year period, there were no murders, one robbery, three aggravated assaults, three sexual assaults and no hate crimes, the document showed.

Hackenberg, 52, who joined the department after a 25-year career with the Pennsylvania State Police, said his department has implemented several programs over the last 18 months. They included a national program, Preventing Rape by Intoxication Through Community Education, or P.R.I.C.E.

With the new Sprinter transit links, and the southern extension of Twin Valley Oaks Road complete, Hackenberg said the campus is not as isolated.

More than 600 students live on campus, with plans for new residences for 800 more students.

"We enjoy a very low crime rate here," Hackenberg said, seated in his office on campus. "It's our job to maintain that low crime rate as the campus grows."

Contact staff writer Chris Nichols at (760) 740-5426 or cnichols@nctimes.com