Purdue and Indiana Universities recently released their annual security reports, detailing crime statistics on or near campus in 2022.
(Brandon Anderson/ Flickr)
Crimes such as drug and alcohol violations and dating violence are up on college campuses, according to Indiana and Purdue Universities annual security reports.
IU and Purdue, like all public higher education institutions, are required by the Clery Act to provide information on crime on or adjacent to campus. The two universities reported statistics from 2020-22.
The Bloomington campus saw increases in rape, fondling, dating violence and stalking. The number of stalking and fondling offenses doubled to 73 and 35, respectively. There were 38 reported rapes, up from 24 the previous year. Dating violence offenses saw a dramatic rise of 33 offenses, up from five in 2021.
IU Public Information Officer Hannah Skibba said there’s never a singular reason for increases in crime.
She said not all rapes are reported to the Indiana University Police Department. Tracking this informatio is federal law, and offices across campus including the Office of Student Conduct and the Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy that provide information to Department of Public Safety.
"We remain committed to preventing all forms of sexual misconduct and continue to educate our community on active bystandership and sexual assault prevention," Skibba said. "The increased numbers may be a reflection of students feeling more comfortable coming forward to report these incidents to university officials and having more awareness of the resources available for reporting."
The threshold for what's considered stalking has "decreased significantly" after guidance from the Department of Education, Skibba said. Stalking under the Clery Act, and what's included in annual reports, might not be considered criminal stalking. The Clery Act defines stalking as two or more unwanted contacts of any kind, Skibba said, while the Indiana criminal code has a more "traditional" definition: repeated or continued harrassment that causes feelings such as fear and intimidation.
More referrals were made for disciplinary action for liquor law violations than any other offense on the Bloomington campus — 810. This number has decreased over time though, down from 1,058 last year. However, arrests for liquor law violations doubled to 137.
"These numbers tend to balance each other out when looking at the total amount of liquor law violations that we had as a whole," Skibba said. "There are simply some instances when an arrest is more appropriate than a referral, and vice versa. Our officers use all information provided to them at the time of contact to make the best decision in each situation."
More crimes took place on the Bloomington campus than any other IU campus.
IUPUI saw decreases in offenses such as rape, motor vehicle theft and domestic violence. However, dating violence offenses quadrupled to 29 last year and burglaries tripled to 31. Six aggravated assaults were reported on campus and four on public property. Stalking also rose from 20 to 31 offenses.
Drug and liquor violations are a problem on IUPUI’s campus as well. Referrals for disciplinary action for liquor law violations had 56 offenses, the most in any category.
IUPUI had four reported hate crimes, more than any other campus.
IU Kokomo and East were the only campuses without any offenses.
Associate Vice President and Superintendent for Public Safety Benjamin Hunter said in IU’s annual security report that IU’s approach is “one of transparency and collaboration."
"Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns,” Hunter said. "Together, we can create a safe and secure environment for everyone at Indiana University."
Thefts, drugs and alcohol crimes at Purdue
Purdue updated its annual security reports for all campuses Sept. 27. Vice President of Physical Facilities and Chief Public Safety Officer Jay Wasson provided a statement in West Lafayette’s security report.
“At Purdue University, we recognize that the safety and security of the Purdue community is the foundation for an engaged campus,” Wasson said. “Reliable public safety services and transformational experiences form the basis of learning, living and working across this large campus.”
On the West Lafayette campus, reports of dating violence, motor vehicle thefts and rape have increased since 2020. Dating violence offenses jumped from four to 23 since 2020. Rape offenses more than doubled to 37 offenses, though 2022’s number is down from 64 in 2021.
Purdue states motor vehicle thefts grew from 10 to 51 last year because of a “significant increase in ‘motor vehicles’ on campus — both rented and personally owned.” Motor vehicles include scooters, mopeds and hoverboards.
There were three reported hate crimes for Purdue West Lafayette.
Drug and alcohol arrests include the bulk of the crimes in the main campus’ annual report.
Drug arrests and referrals decreased since 2020. Arrests and referrals for liquor law violations have increased. There were 234 arrests for such violations in 2022 and 1,380 referrals.
Purdue attributes these increases to how the Clery Act defines arrest and how Purdue determines whether an incident satisfied that definition. Despite the increase, Purdue states in the report the number of drug and alcohol incidents is “relatively consistent over the years.”
Every other campus except for Vincennes reported no offenses in their annual security reports.
Purdue says departments such as the Indiana State Police, Indiana State Excise Police and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources “may have replied to Purdue’s request for crime data in a format that does not allow Purdue to glean Clery statistics.” The university is “unable to determine” the impact of that data on its reported statistics.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @aubreymwright.
