Reports of motor vehicle thefts tripled in 2023; Reports of rape went down

By Ashlyn Beck | News editor

In the past year, reports of vehicle thefts, alcohol law violations and stalking have increased. Meanwhile, reports of rape on campus and in surrounding areas declined, according to Baylor’s annual fire and safety report.

The Clery Act requires higher education institutions that participate in federal financial aid programs to disclose crimes reported on campus, in the surrounding area, and at locations owned by the institution. Baylor’s “Clery geography” includes the Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas and the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work on Washington Street.

There were 20 reports of motor vehicle theft in 2023, more than triple the six reports filed in 2022. Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman said the increase in vehicle theft reports is likely due to the increasing popularity of electric scooters, motorized bicycles and e-bikes on campus.

“BUPD encourages students And others to securely lock scooters And Bicycles with U-locks in well-lit places where there are usually a lot of people. It is also advisable to regularly check for a locked scooter or bike,” Fogleman wrote in an email.

The report also found an increase in arrests for alcohol law violations in student housing, but a decrease in court referrals. In 2022, there were 43 arrests for alcohol law violations in college residence halls and 91 court referrals. However, 2023 saw the opposite, with 89 arrests and 43 court referrals.

Rob Engblom, senior associate director of Campus Living and Learning, said a typical arrest for a liquor law violation is essentially just a citation. The drop in numbers is likely due to BUPD still following COVID-19 protocol in 2022, Engblom said.

“Baylor police were still operating with some of their COVID protocols, so they responded less personally to alcohol incidents because they were trying to ensure the safety of their officers,” Engblom said. “Our preference and their preference is for them to respond personally. But I would say it’s a lower level DUI violation: you didn’t respond in person as often as you normally would [would].”

There was a slight increase in stalking reports between 2022 and 2023, although there was a nearly double increase between 2021 and 2022 (23 and 40 reports, respectively).

Meanwhile, rape reports fell by more than half, from 22 in 2022 to seven in 2023. Importantly, these statistics only refer to reports of rape, not necessarily actual rape cases in the Clery region.

Summer Dean, a lecturer in Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media, is a licensed attorney and teaches a course on law and ethics in journalism. Dean said the report should be viewed with caution.

“The number quoted there does not necessarily mean that these crimes were investigated and confirmed, but they were reported,” Dean said.

It’s difficult to understand a significant increase or decrease in reported crime in a single year, Fogleman said. When deciding what measures to take, the university looks for patterns over several years to adapt security measures.

“Campus Security is a cross-university effort, so we do not employ any employees Security Actions based only on this report. We do it because it’s the right thing to do And a reflection of our caring campus community,” Fogleman said.