The annual Clery Reports from many colleges and universities are out, including in Oregon.
The review of data between 2017 and 2022 shows that incidents of crime are ticking back up, after a brief hiatus during the pandemic.
COVID-19 cleared out many dorms and classrooms for a roughly two-year stretch. Now students are back, as are higher rates of incidents including theft, stalking, rape, and arson.
Jason Wade is the Chief of the University of Oregon’sPolice Department. He said that he feels the Eugene campus of 24,000 people is relatively safe, but it’s important to report incidents.
“Working together to keep this community and campus safe is paramount to this department,” said Wade. “We’re all in together, and if we can get those crimes down to zero, and put me out of a job, because there are no crimes, I’d be happy picking up trash or doing something else.”
Prevalent or most common crimes? It’s a takeaway
Many campuses are showing increased rates of burglary and theft since the pandemic. At the UO, there were 40 cases of on-campus burglary, including 13 reported in residence halls in 2022. That’s a stark contrast to 2019, when 21 cases were reported on-campus, (including three instances in dorms).
Campus officials are emphasizing these are largely crimes against property, not people. Wade said these incidents have largely involved enclosed bike cages.
“We have members of our community who are finding ways to either break into those cages, damage them, or somehow get inside the cages,” he said. “So it’s not what people see as a typical burglary where someone’s breaking into a residence. We’ve been really working after how we can improve the structures, which include protecting the locking mechanisms better, the door handles. Adding cameras, and increasing our signage.”
Wade said they’ve also oriented new students and families on security practices and safety on-campus, which include keeping valuable items locked away or in their possession at all times.
For Oregon State University, burglary rates remained fairly consistent over a six-year period for its main Corvallis campus, which has 35,000 people. But motor vehicle thefts were high last year, with 19 incidents reported.
Nathan Chester, OSU’s Clery Compliance Officer, said there have been more incidents of individuals “joyriding university-owned golf carts,” as well as thefts of e-scooters and e-bikes, which are also classified as motor vehicles at times.
“Due to growing popularity on-campus, electric scooters have increasingly become targets of theft,” Chester said in an email to KLCC.
The dilemma over victim’s reports
When dealing with sensitive and often traumatizing incidents such as assault, stalking, rape, and domestic or dating violence, victims advocates often worry that such cases go underreported. Reasons for this include fear of retaliation, feelings that no one cares, or not knowing where to go for assistance.
“Even though the university community is encouraged to report crimes to the Department of Public Safety, Oregon State University recognizes that those impacted by crimes may choose not to report to law enforcement for various reasons,” said Chester. “Non-emergency crimes can also be reported to certain university offices, such as the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access, if involving sexual misconduct, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, if involving incidents that could violate the Code of Student Conduct, or student housing staff, if involving incidents in residence halls. However, students, employees, and the general public should report all emergencies occurring on campus immediately by calling 911.”
Chester said it’s important to report because of the resources available on campus. “For example, the Center for Advocacy, Prevention and Education provides free and confidential resources and support for survivors of interpersonal and gender-based violence, and Counseling and Psychological Services provides mental health counseling to students.
“Furthermore, DPS can connect victims with university and local resources even if criminal prosecution is not desired and assist them with safety planning.”
The UO’s Wade said it isn’t always clear if an increased number of crimes against another person means that the rate is increasing, or if people are just more aware of reporting methods and feel more comfortable filing. Either way, Wade emphasized the importance of reporting a crime.
“So we can actually investigate them, and take measures to protect our community, or at least identify when those incidents occur,” said Wade.
Hate crimes creeping up across campuses
One disturbing trend for Oregon: 2021 data from the U.S. Dept. of Education showed 32 reports of hate crimes on college campuses, the highest ever for the state.
“We are very concerned with any report of a hate crime,” said the UO's Wade. “Those reported on campus in the past two years (2021-2022) involved intimidation and vandalism, characterizing the victims involved by race, sex, sexual orientation and/or religion.”
The UO had six reports of hate crimes in 2021, and four in 2022. None were reported in 2020.
OSU had no hate crimes reported last year, nor did it in 2019. 2018 was the most active year in the six-year timeframe, with four incidents recorded which included vandalism against on-campus student housing characterized by “sexual orientation bias.”
“An incident is classified as a hate crime when the crime manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator's bias against the victim,” OSU’s Chester wrote KLCC. “In other words, it is the perception of the perpetrator that classifies the offense as a hate crime, and sometimes there is not enough evidence to clearly establish this. As a result, there is a higher threshold for classifying hate crimes.
“However, even if a bias incident doesn’t meet the federal definitions, the university community should still report it to the Office of Institutional Diversity so that they can be connected to resources and help the university track trends.”
Lane Community College was the third institution whose Clery Data was reviewed by KLCC. Its incident rate is much lower than that of OSU or the UO due to its smaller student body and more limited residential housing.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to issue a public report every year by Oct. 1. It must include campus crime statistics for the previous three years, plus details about efforts taken to improve safety. It’s named for Jeanne Clery, who was murdered in 1986 at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania by a fellow classmate. The attack on Clery was one of 38 violent crimes recorded at Lehigh over three years. Her parents argued that had the university's crime record been known, Clery would not have enrolled there. After a $2 million settlement with the university, they founded the non-profit group, Clery Center for Security on Campus.
Failure to comply can result in penalties leveled against the school, and/or restrictions to federal student financial aid.
2023 Clery reports for KLCC, the University of Oregon, and Oregon State University can be accessed at the following links:
KLCC's Clery Report
University of Oregon's Clery Report
Oregon State University's Clery Report
