The Wesleyan Argus | Fire and safety reports published for the campus

In an email to the entire campus sent on Saturday, September 28, Scott Rohde, Director of Public Safety (PSafe), released the 2023 Annual Safety Report and Annual Fire Safety Reports. The reports outline various University policies, security guidelines and statistics, including those for the 2023 calendar year.

The reports are commissioned by the federal government under the Clery Act of 1990.

“Part of the obligation is to report all serious crimes and certain other violations to the Department of Education each fall,” Rohde said. “The second part of the requirement is to provide the campus with an annual safety report that includes not only the statistical data sent to the Department of Education, but also information on policies, procedures, available resources and safety tips.”

The safety report was prepared last month by PSafe using information from the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Residential Life and local law enforcement, as well as internal PSafe data.

“Every September we print out the data and compare the number of cases with cross-references so that we don’t report incidents twice,” said Rohde. “We also source data from other departments as some incidents are reported directly to them and they may not report to public safety. Therefore, we do our best to capture reports filed with other offices.”

Most of the crimes categorized in the report are serious crimes, as determined by the U.S. Department of Education. The university’s report also includes alcohol, drug and weapons violations as PSafe finds these impact campus safety.

There were no murders, manslaughters, robberies, arsons, stalking or aggravated assault reported at or in connection with the university in calendar year 2023. In general, the number of reported crimes has decreased slightly in the last two years.

“Because most criminal activity on or near the Wesleyan campus is not serious, these numbers are historically low,” Rohde said.

The Fire Safety Report is prepared by Campus Fire Safety and includes fire safety policies and procedures, fire protection system information, and statistics dating back to 2007.

“I write the report every year and send it to Public Safety for them to post on campus,” fire safety manager Chris Cruz wrote in an email to The Argus.

According to the fire protection report, there were two fire incidents in calendar year 2023; Neither caused any deaths, injuries or damage to residential structures. That was a decrease from three reported incidents the year before, which also caused no deaths or injuries but resulted in total property damage of $1,400, according to Fire Safety estimates. It was also the lowest number of incidents since calendar year 2008, the last year until 2023 in which there was no property damage. Since public fire data disclosure was mandated by federal law in 2008, no fire-related injuries or deaths have been recorded at university residences.

Although crime and fire rates are relatively low, Rohde emphasized that students should continue to be mindful of their own safety.

“I always reiterate the belief that at Wesleyan everyone is responsible for their own health and safety,” Rohde said. “Making good decisions by securing property, eliminating dangerous situations and promptly communicating suspicious activity and areas that may require repairs or attention goes a long way toward keeping the campus safe.”

Spencer Landers can be reached at [email protected]

Caleb Henning contributed reporting and can be reached at [email protected]