Every year Arkansas Tech University, as required by the federal Jeanne Clery Act, posts crime statistics for the previous three years.
The statistics are also emailed to the Tech community. Students, faculty and staff received copies of the 68-page report, titled “Arkansas Tech University 2021 Combined Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report,” via email on Friday.
In a side-by-side comparison of crime statistics from 2018 and 2019, statistics from 2020 showed little difference.
According to the report, there were eight burglaries reported in 2020, compared to six in 2019 and eight in 2018.
Drug and liquor law violations were the leading violations noted. In 2018 there were 45 on-campus alcohol violations referred for disciplinary action, with 37 reported in 2019. In 2020, the total was 44.
Drug violations referred for disciplinary action in 2020 totaled 19, down from 2019’s total of 28. In 2018, there were nine such violations noted.
According to the report, there were two reported cases on on-campus rapes in 2020, compared to three in 2019 and one in 2018.
The report also noted four cases of dating violence in 2020, the same number reported in 2019. In 2018, there was one case reported.
Three cases of stalking were reported in 2020, compared with two in 2019 and one in 2018.
The report also provides documentation regarding safety-related programs and other resources available to students.
The Cleary Act draws its name from Jeanne Clery, a freshman at Lehigh University who was raped and murdered by a fellow student in her residence hall in 1986. After her death, Clery’s parents argued that the university did not warn prospective and current students about crime that was reported on campus. Had Clery known of the dangers, she would not have attended Lehigh, her parents said.
The Clery Act was signed into law in 1990. It requires colleges and universities that receive federal financial aid for students to report campus crime data, support victims of violence and outline the policies and procedures in place to improve campus safety.
Students wishing to compare Tech’s numbers with campuses of comparable size can access the University of Central Arkansas report at https://uca.edu/police/files/2021/09/2021ASR.pdf and the Arkansas State University report at https://www.astate.edu/a/police/files/FINALIZED-ASR-2021(2).pdf.
