Tori Bedsole
Features Editor
Lilly Casolaro
News Editor
In 2016, Troy University reported two on-campus rapes, one case of fondling, two robberies, 11 on-campus burglaries and four motor vehicle thefts on campus, according to the 2017 annual safety report.
The university’s annual safety report, which was recently released for 2016, includes information concerning certain university crimes.
According to Dean of Student Services Herbert Reeves, the report lists crimes across all Troy campuses, including all Alabama campuses, areas where students are studying abroad, military bases and campuses in other countries.
“Based on the numbers, Troy is still a very safe campus,” Reeves said.
University Police Chief John McCall said the statistics for 2016 are better than past years.
“When you compare us to other universities, even universities our size, we are extremely low in crimes that happen at the Troy University campus,” McCall said. “We have excellent stats, but you have to realize the reason that our stats are so low is because we have, pretty much, good students down here.”
According to Troy’s 2017 safety report:
In 2014, there were 20 on-campus burglaries reported, two cases of on-campus motor vehicle theft and no cases of fondling or on-campus rape.
In 2015, there were 16 on-campus burglaries reported, one case of on-campus motor vehicle theft, two cases of fondling and two cases of on-campus rape.
Total enrollment for “all Troy University locations” as of fall 2015 was 18,376, according to Troy’s website.
According to the University of South Alabama’s 2017 safety report for main campus:
In 2014, there were 19 on-campus burglaries reported, two cases of on-campus motor vehicle theft, one case of fondling and four cases of on-campus rape.
In 2015, there were 27 on-campus burglaries reported, two cases of on-campus motor vehicle theft, one case of fondling and one case of on-campus rape.
In 2016, there were 11 on-campus burglaries reported, three cases of on-campus motor vehicle theft, two cases of fondling and eight cases of on-campus rape.
The University of South Alabama’s total enrollment was 16,462 as of fall 2015, according to its website.
The annual safety report is determined based on the Clery Act.
“The Jeanne Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies,” according to the annual safety report.
McCall said that the Troy community influences the results of the report.
“The community that you have around you makes the Clery stats what they are,” McCall said. “That’s one of the benefits to coming to Troy University — we’ve got a small community around us, but that small community is also a low-crime community.”
According to McCall, the purpose of the annual safety report is to allow prospective students and their parents to judge the university based on crime statistics.
Reeves and McCall both partially attribute a reduction in residence hall crimes, like burglary, to the additions of cameras.
According to McCall, cameras help in solving around 75 percent of crimes that take place on campus and have even cleared some students who were falsely accused of crimes.
For information on how to report a crime for different circumstances, check the annual safety report.
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