On Sept. 30, Safety and Security released its annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The data showed an increase in motor vehicle theft and a decrease in stalking compared to 2022 and 2021.
Also known as the Clery Report — since the annual report is mandated by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act — the data analyzes the safety of college campuses, according to Safety and Security director Keysi Montás. He explained that the report aims to give people “an idea of how safe or unsafe a particular campus” can be in comparison to other schools.
This year’s report was the first since 2019 to exclude data from 2020 — when students did not return for spring term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clery compliance officer Grace Alden said she believes the increase in certain crime statistics in this year’s report is a result of the return of campus life after the pandemic.
“We didn’t come back all at once from the pandemic,” she said. “Campus life ramped up somewhat gradually, and so I think what we are seeing is a year-over-year increase in the return of the affinity houses, Greek societies and all the social societies to full operation.”
Dartmouth reported 199 disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations in 2021, 73 in 2022 and 106 in 2023, according to the report. By contrast, the College reported 85 referrals in 2020 and 245 in 2019, according to the 2021 Clery Report. Alden said she believes the increase from 2022 to 2023 reflects that New Hampshire’s Good Samaritan law — which mandates that students are not referred to police for reporting alcohol or drug emergencies — “is operating there.”
Motor vehicle thefts increased from three in 2021 and 18 in 2022 to 25 in 2023. Currently, any vehicle with a motor — including electronic scooters and skateboards — is classified as a “motor vehicle” under Clery regulations. Montás said he hopes this classification will change with an adjustment of federal law in the near future.
“We have to enter this data into the federal government, and they’ll [say], ‘You cannot have a motor vehicle stolen out of a dormitory,’ but yes, you can,” Montás said.
The number of overall burglaries on campus decreased from 24 in 2022 to 16 in 2023. By contrast, there were 21 burglaries in 2021, four in 2020 and 14 in 2019. Montás said he considers the drop to reflect “normal” year-to-year variation.
There were a total of 16 reports of rape to Title IX in 2021, six in 2022 and seven in 2023. By contrast, there were 10 in 2020 and 32 in 2019. Reports of domestic violence increased from 12 in 2021 and four in 2022 to five in 2023. In last year’s report, there were zero in 2020 and 13 in 2019. According to equal opportunity, accessibility and Title IX vice president Sarah Harebo, these incidents “prompt” the need for “more specific resources, support mechanisms or training in specific areas.”
Harebo said she aims to help students feel as comfortable as they can on campus. This involves finding ways to help with “empowering” survivors of sexual violence, while also building additional supports such as focus groups and other relevant programming with prevention staff, she said.
“Sometimes we don’t always look at the increase in reports as a negative,” Harebo added. “Sometimes I look at it [as] kind of positive, meaning people are feeling comfortable in reporting.”
Students reported three hate crimes to either local law enforcement or campus security authorities in 2021, one in 2022 and two in 2023. In 2020, there were three reports.
Montás recommended that all students download the LiveSafe app, which he said is “the easiest and most convenient way” of reaching Safety and Security for help. He added that the app also allows anonymous reporting.
Overall, last year’s report contained lower numbers of motor vehicle theft, rape, domestic violence, hate crimes and disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations because 2020 — the full first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — was included in the report’s three-year snapshot. This year, 2020 pandemic numbers were not included in the sample — resulting in “large percentage variations” that are not as meaningful in the data, Alden said.
According to Alden, when it comes to trying to better understand safety through the report, 2020 is “no great loss.” Outside variables — such as campus being scarcely populated — impacted the 2020 numbers and made it difficult to “draw any significant meaning from” the numbers, she explained. The way Alden sees it, “that’s very much an apples to kumquats comparison.”
Senior vice president and senior diversity officer Shontay Delalue did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
