Crime on campus A review of the 2022 fire and safety report

As with many other college institutions around the country, having an idea of the crime rates near campus is considered essential knowledge for students.

The Southern Utah University Police Department, guided by the Title IX Office, has helped provide this information on an annual basis by creating a yearly fire and safety report. The report, which is required by law for all state colleges and universities to complete, was released to SUU students and faculty on Sept. 28.

While the report may go unchecked in students’ email inboxes after it’s released, the 84-page document details the statistics and standards for both crime and fire safety for the previous year. The statistics include violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape and aggravated assault and other, more simple charges such as liquor, drug and weapon law violations.

SUU Police Chief Rick Brown explained that the basic aspects of the report are governed by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy & Campus Crime Statistics Act.

The Clery Act states that universities must include four main categories of crime reporting in their annual report, including criminal offenses, hate crimes, Violence Against Women Act offenses and arrests and referrals for disciplinary action.

The criminal offenses category includes homicide, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson. The mandatory hate crimes include theft, simple assault, intimidation and vandalism of property.

Meanwhile, VAWA offenses include any kind of domestic or dating violence as well as stalking. The final category includes any arrest or referrals made to students involving weapons, drugs or liquor abuse.

For a university to accurately follow the Clery Act, it must include all four of these categories in its annual report. Universities also have the option to include crimes that are not mandatory on the report, such as simple assaults that do not fit under the hate speech category.

“You have the minimum requirements, but you can put in any crime you want as long as you include the minimum,” Brown said.

According to this year’s fire and safety report, the total instances of crime filed under the Clery Act went up from 36 instances in 2020 to 59 in 2021. Of the 59 incidents, 29 were due to liquor law violation referrals.

While there were no instances of domestic violence or rape, there was a single case of stalking. During the previous year, there were two rape cases, one case of domestic violence and three stalking incidents.

Among the incidents not required to be reported under the Clery Act, there were eight simple assaults, 56 medical emergencies, three instances of trespassing and 51 traffic-related instances on campus in 2021.

According to the monthly reports for 2022, there have been three simple assaults, 53 medical emergencies, five instances of trespassing and 66 traffic-related instances during the year, as of Sept. 29.

However, with only five criminal offenses, no instances of violent crimes reported and many of the documented crimes being alcohol-related in 2021, Brown believes that SUU is still one of the safest universities in the state.

“In the past, we have always been on the lower end of crime rates compared to the other universities,” Brown said. “So, yes, I think that we have continued that trend of being safer that way.”

Brown believes it is important for students and faculty to read through the report to better understand both what is happening on campus and how to find available resources.

“Part of that report is not just what has happened but what are the resources available on campus,” Brown said. “So, as a faculty member, if you’re dealing with a student who has some questions, you can say, ‘Hey, have you tried going to the police? Have you tried going to CAPS? Have you tried going to the dean of students? Did you know there’s a tutoring office?’ There are all of these kinds of resources right here.”

According to Brown, the report is created in an ongoing process, and when crimes are filed, they are quickly recorded in the safety report.

“It’s something that we work on all year long,” Brown said. “Every morning when I go through the reports, I flag which ones need to be counted in that data.”

The police department, the Office of Equal Opportunity & Clery Compliance and the Title IX Office also meet once a month to review the statistics and to determine what should be counted in the report.

Total Crimes: 29

Liquor Law Violation

Drug Abuse Violation

Total Crimes: 54 2021

Theft

Motor Vehicle Theft

Liquor Law Violation

Rape

Drug Abuse Violation

Burglary

Stalking

Fondling

Criminal Offenses

Arrests

Disciplinary Referrals

VAWA Offenses

Drug Abuse Violation

Stalking

Burglary

Drug Abuse Violation

Liquor Law Violation

The report is heavily utilized by students that are considering university enrollment to gauge the safety of the campus.

“They would say, ‘We looked at this report, and we’ve seen the low crime rate around here, and that’s one of the reasons we came here,’” Brown said. “It’s definitely a factor for a lot of parents.”

Brown wants students to emphasize respect in their daily lives. He feels that simply being respectful can be effective in keeping the crime rate low.

Liquor Law Violation

“If people respected each other, that would take care of sexual assault, that would take care of theft, that would take care of burglary, criminal mischief, assaults — all of that stuff can be resolved through respect,” Brown said.

The most recent fire and safety report can be found on the SUU website at suu.edu/clery. Specific crime statistics can be found on page 74. Students and staff may also view monthly crime logs at suu.edu/police/monthly.html

- Written by Luke McKenzie

Southern Utah University’s long-awaited Bachelor of Fine Arts in Filmmaking program is finishing its first semester.

The program is an integration of art and design, communication, media, English, music and theatre, as well as content unique to the discipline of film. Notable photographer and producer Harun Mehmedinovic, English professors Todd Petersen and Kyle Bishop, and communication professor Bill Kershisnik currently head the major and teach a majority of the classes.

This first cohort of 19 students will be different from most future ones because many are sophomores, juniors and seniors who have been working on different majors throughout their time at SUU. This semester, each of these students submitted a portfolio of their past work for faculty review, but future cohorts will take a class that will serve as their audition for the program.

“The entire time I have been here [at SUU], I’ve been preparing for the film program,” Sarah Hutchings, a senior in the program, stated. “We’re the guinea pigs, and I’m okay with that, and I understand that this is going to be a learning experience for everyone.”