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The number of burglaries and robberies on and around Yale’s campus has plunged over the last year, but the number of sexual offenses has increased, according to the Annual Report on Campus Security and Fire Safety for 2016.

Released by the University in an email on Friday, the report tracks crimes committed on campus, in public areas near campus and in Yale-affiliated buildings off campus. Twenty-five incidents of rape were reported in 2016, an increase from 13 and 18 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Eighteen of the incidences last year occurred in campus residences, compared to 16 in 2015. The number of burglaries has dropped drastically, however, from 70 in 2015 to 38 in 2016, and robberies also decreased from 29 to 15 over the past year, according to the report.

Crime statistics for the report were collected from the Yale Police Department, the New Haven Police Department and school officials designated as “campus security authorities,” a designation that requires knowledge of both formal and informal complaints and disciplinary referrals.

In a statement to the News, University spokeswoman Karen Peart said the report showed a continued downward trend in crime on campus and in New Haven.

“We value our partnerships, especially with the New Haven Police, and our collaborative efforts with respect to the deployment of resources [have] certainly contributed to our overall success as we continue to work together to reduce crime and enhance quality of life,” Peart said.

The campus security report fulfills part of Yale’s requirements under the federal Clery Act, which requires universities that receive federal financial aid support to annually report certain criminal offenses, disciplinary actions, arrests and hate crimes that occur around Yale’s campus and notify the campus community in a timely fashion when a criminal incident occurs.

Additionally, the Violence Against Women Act requires the University to separately report incidents of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. A section within this year’s campus security report was devoted to those statistics.

While there were no incidences of domestic violence on or around campus in 2015, five such episodes occurred last year. Instances of dating violence also jumped from eight on campus in 2015 to 11 last year.

Stephanie Spangler, University Title IX coordinator, declined to comment on the report, saying she spoke with the News earlier this year after the Provost’s Office released its semiannual report of complaints of sexual misconduct.

The annual report on campus security shows the number of cases in a determined geographic area surrounding the University regardless of the institutional affiliation of those involved, while the Provost’s Office’s semiannual report of complaints of sexual misconduct includes data for sexual misconduct cases involving the Yale community regardless of geographic location. The Provost’s Office’s latest semiannual report cited 82 complaints of sexual misconduct between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year.

Carole Goldberg, the director of the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Education Center, declined to comment on the campus security report as well, citing SHARE’s policy against giving interviews.

The 2016 Annual Fire Safety Report, also compiled in compliance with federal law, includes a list of all the fire incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2016 as well as the number of fire drills held in 2016, the procedures for student housing evacuation and Yale’s policies on fire safety–related issues. According to the report, there were nine fires reported last year, two of which occurred in Grace Hopper College.

Of 13 students interviewed, none had read the report. T.J. Maresca ’21 and Caleb Kim ’21, who had not read the report before talking to the News, said they were encouraged by the decrease in burglaries and robberies after reading the statistics.

But they expressed mixed feelings about the sexual offense statistics. Maresca said she was unsure whether the increase in reported incidences was due to more people reporting incidences of sexual misconduct, which she said would be a positive change, or an increase in the actual number of sexual offenses. Kim called on campus officials to do more to decrease the number of incidents of rape on and around campus.

“The decrease in burglary cases on campus is very good, but the increase in rape cases demonstrates a lack of accountability on the part of the campus officials,” said Kim. “Further action should be taken so these cases can be brought to justice.”

No incidents of hate crimes were reported on or around campus in 2014, 2015 or 2016.

Adelaide Feibel | adelaide.feibel@yale.edu

Eui Young Kim | euiyoung.kim@yale.edu

ADELAIDE FEIBEL
EUI YOUNG KIM
Yale College Class of 2021; Yale Law School Class of 2025