Crime statistics down in 2014 according to recent Clery Report

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Campus Safety released the Annual Fire Safety and Security Report (AFSSR), also known as the Clery Report, Thursday.

The recent AFSSR report includes crime statistics from the 2014 calendar year in addition to information from the two previous years. In an email to the campus community Thursday, Clery Coordinator Veronika Barsegyan and Chief of Campus Safety Victor Clay explained that some of the crime statistics for the years 2012 and 2013 were retroactively changed due to previous misinformation.

The report reveals increases in weapons violations and drug arrests (distinct from disciplinary referrals) and decreases in liquor law violations. There were four reported weapons law violations for 2014, up from zero in 2013 and one in 2012. One drug arrest was reported for 2014, along with 38 disciplinary referrals for drug law violations. No drug arrests were reported in 2013 or 2012, and disciplinary referrals were 52 and 100, respectively.

This year, the section for sexual offenses was broken down into categories of rape, statutory rape and incest. There were eight rapes reported in 2014. In 2013, 60 sex offenses were reported, with 10 in 2012.

Certain aspects of the Clery Act were amended after President Barack Obama signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 in March 2013. Under the new law, which went into effect July 1, institutions are required to revise the definition of rape to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s updated definition, which no longer includes the terms “forcible” and “non-forcible” in regard to sexual assault. Institutions are also now required to compile statistics on incidents of stalking, dating violence and domestic violence.

According to the report, crime statistics came from three distinct entities: the Campus Safety Department, local law enforcement agencies and Campus Safety authorities including the Title IX coordinator and Residential Education and Housing Services (REHS).

The compilation of the AFSSR has been a year-long process, according to Barsegyan, who led the Clery team.

“I appreciate all the efforts of my colleagues and hope that the community can be safer as a result of our efforts,” Barsegyan said.

The Clery team included the Title IX coordinator, chief of Campus Safety, college general counsel, director of REHS, associate Dean of Students, assistant director of student conduct and housing services, director of human resources and the manager and survivor advocate in Project Sexual Assault Free Environment.

The report is released yearly in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, which requires that schools where students receive federal student financial aid compile information about crime on and near their campuses.

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