Campus safety sees decline in crime

There have been a total of 38 reported criminal incidents on campus so far this calendar year. The offenses include theft, stalking, criminal trespassing, domestic violence, hit and run incidents and criminal mischief.

“It surprises me because I don’t hear a lot about crime at LC,” Sarit Cahana ’20 said when asked about these reports.

March saw the highest rate of crime with 10 total offenses, while there was a decline in incidents during summer break. There was only one reported incident in September. Thea Crowley ’20, a Resident Advisor for Manzanita, shared her thoughts on why there may have been few reports in September.

“With the beginning of the year I feel like the school promotes specific values that are upheld on campus, and what actions are deemed acceptable,” Crowley said. “So perhaps it is because of standards that the community upholds at the beginning of the year.”

The number of reported crimes on campus between January and October in 2016 reached a total of 63, compared to the current count of 38 for 2017. In 2016, Sept. alone had 7 reported incidents.

There were four Title IX investigations launched in Sept. 2016. There were  no Title IX investigations launched in Sept. 2017.

“Hopefully with increased conversation and education the level of crime has actually gone down, but I cannot speak to how accurate that is,” Analia Rey ’18 said. “There is always the possibility that crimes just have not been reported.”

While it is impossible to know why some may choose not to report crimes, Carmel Companiott ’19 said that while she cannot recall measures for reporting off the top of her head, she feels that the school “has given us many resources and handouts (especially from freshman year) that I could refer to and find if I needed to.”

If students are interested in learning more about crime statistics for the current and past academic years, they can visit the Campus Safety page through the LC website. These crime statistics were taken from Campus Safety’s 2016 and 2017 Daily Crime Log. Students can contact their Resident Advisors or Area Directors for support and assistance when reporting a crime of any kind. Sexual assault reports can also be made through the Health Promotion and Wellness page on the LC website and both survivors and witnesses to assault can choose to keep their identities anonymous as well.