Earlier this week UC Davis released an annual report on campus-related crime statistics, as is required by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998 (Clery Act). The 2019 report contains data collected from the 2018 calendar year.
The report includes statistics on crimes committed on the UC Davis campus and at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, as well as off-campus crimes related to UC Davis students and personnel. The data includes crimes reported to the UC Davis Police Department and other police departments, as well as to various campus security authorities and to the Title IX office. “The intent is to give us a full picture of crime in the environment around campus,” UC Davis media relations officer Andy Fell said.
Criminal statistics for 2018 did not show dramatic increases or decreases from previous years.
More incidents of sexual violence reported in 2018 than the previous two years. The number of rapes reported increased from seven in 2017 to 14 in 2018. However, UC Davis said it’s unlikely those numbers represent the full picture.
“It’s hard to extrapolate a trend from that,” Fell said. According to a Justice Department analysis of violent crime in 2016, nearly 80 percent of sexual assaults go unreported. The 14 rapes reported in 2018 remain lower than the figure in 2015, when 28 rapes were reported.
Other crimes that saw minor increases in 2018 include fondling, dating violence, stalking, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, and motor vehicle theft. These marginal increases could also be due to increased reporting of crimes, UC Davis said. In 2018, there were fewer instances of arson, weapons arrests and drug arrests.
The only crime category that showed a significant statistical change was liquor arrests, which dropped from 22 in 2017 to just a single arrest in 2018. The near elimination of liquor arrests reflects a procedural change implemented by UC Davis Police Chief Joseph A. Farrow. In fall 2017, after Farrow was sworn in, campus police shifted away from charging students for liquor-related offenses and began focusing on education and counseling in response to those offenses.
The UC Davis Police Department has 50 officers, not including other non-sworn campus security personnel. Student enrollment in fall 2018 was roughly 39,000.
— Reach Caleb Hampton at 530-747-8082 or champton@davisenterprise.net. Follow him on Twitter @calebmhampton.
