The Duke University Police Department released updated crime statistics in its annual Clery Security Report, which shows an increase in a number of reported crimes for the 2009 calendar year.
The report, released Sept. 30, shows increases in reports of forcible sex offenses, robberies and aggravated assaults. There was also an upswing in liquor law and drug law violations referred for disciplinary action.
University officials attributed the rise in reported crimes to new reporting policies and greater student awareness.
“The bottom line is I don’t think the numbers in any way indicate an increase in crime,” Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said. “I do think that students feel a higher level of responsibility to report those aspects of the community that they feel are having a negative impact.”
The federal Clery Act requires all universities to publish annual safety reports by Oct. 1, reporting crimes committed on campus and public property adjacent to it. As mandated by the Higher Education Opportunity Act, DUPD also released information regarding Duke’s fire safety procedures and statistics.
In 2009, 13 forcible sex offenses were reported—eight more than in 2008 or 2007, when five were reported.
DUPD Chief John Dailey said the increase in reported sexual assaults is a result of revisions made last year to the University’s sexual misconduct policy. The policy requires University officials—including resident advisors and first-year advisory counselors—to report student-on-student sexual misconduct incidents.
“We can definitely say that the increased number is due to more reporting by Student Affairs and that policy that they changed last year,” Dailey said, adding that he reviewed the sources of the 2009 reports.
Of the 13 forcible sex offenses, Dailey said eight were reports of forcible fondling and seven of the forcible sex offenses involved acquaintances.
Another area that saw an increase is robbery, which jumped from two in 2008 to seven in 2009. Dailey said the increase is likely due to the economic downturn and normal data fluctuations.
“It’s a natural cycle,” Dailey said. “We have so few, it just sort of ebbs and flows.”
Incidents of aggravated assault doubled from six in 2008 to 12 in 2009. Dailey said the University has started including reports of patient assaults on medical staff in this category, which accounted for 11 out of 12 incidents in 2009.
Referrals and arrests for alcohol and illegal substance use also increased. The Office of Student Conduct saw 43 more referrals for alcohol violations, which rose from 320 in 2008 to 363 in 2009. Alcohol violations also resulted in 13 arrests last year. Drug law violation referrals increased from 32 to 38, but arrests remained steady at 20.
Dailey said DUPD has received more reports from resident advisors about alcohol violations.
Joe Gonzalez, associate dean of residence life, attributed the increase of reporting to students, who he thinks have become more inclined to seek help for their fellow students. Gonzalez added that RLHS has not revised its resident assistant training program in the past six years.
Tom Szigethy, associate dean and director of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Center, said the center has seen a slight increase in student use this semester, although it partly stemmed from outstanding violations from last year.
For this academic year, campus safety will be handled somewhat differently, as the Campus Safety department is being reorganized and considering changes to managing campus crime.
“We are looking at how we do business, period, in the police department,” Dailey said. “We’re looking at a change in scheduling so we can... tailor to when things might happen.”
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