Annual Clery report shows rise in sexual assault, car thefts
Sexual assaults, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts rose in 2016 on Wichita State’s campus and the surrounding property, according to the university’s annual security and fire safety report.
The report, released Friday, details statistics for crimes reported in 2016. The report is released annually in compliance with the Clery Act, a federal statute enacted in 1990 requiring all universities that receive federal financial aid to report annual crime statistics, maintain a daily crime log, and provide “timely reports” regarding criminal activity that is considered an ongoing threat to the campus community.
The security report includes crimes that occurred on campus, public property within and immediately adjacent to campus — such as streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities — and non-campus institutions related to the university’s educational purposes and frequently used by students, such as fraternity and sorority houses.
Six instances of sexual assault were reported in 2016, up from one sexual assault in 2015. Four of the sexual assaults reported in 2016 were rapes.
Two of the rapes were reported in residence halls on campus. The other two were reported on non-campus property.
The report includes a separate category detailing offenses that violate the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a federal law prohibiting dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Eight total VAWA offenses were detailed in the security report for 2016 — three incidents of domestic or dating violence and six instances of stalking.
14 VAWA violations were reported in 2015.
33 total drug violations were reported in 2016, 13 of which resulted in an arrest. The remaining 20 violations resulted in disciplinary referrals. All but five drug offenses occurred in residence halls.
34 drug policy violations were reported in 2015, resulting in 25 arrests and nine disciplinary referrals.
61 alcohol policy violations were reported in 2016, resulting in four arrests. All alcohol policy violations occurred at residence halls.
103 total alcohol policy violations were reported in 2015, resulting in nine arrests.
Two hate crime offenses were reported in 2016, up from one in 2015.
Six total motor vehicle thefts were reported in 2016, including five on Wichita State’s main campus and one at the university’s Downtown Center, a satellite campus location. Ten burglaries were included in the 2016 report, up from six in 2015.
Jenna Farhat was the news editor of The Sunflower. Farhat majored in creative writing.
Numbers seem a little low • Oct 2, 2017 at 3:34 am
I would not be surprised if those numbers aren’t an accurate reflection of the truth. I wonder if they are a little low. WSU’s administration and WSU Police Dept have not been in compliance with the Clery Act or Title IX for at the very least a few years.