As all information obtained about the incidents was limited to open-source materials, it is important to emphasize a few of the limitations inherent in using such data for behavioral research. Number of hate crimes committed on college campuses U.S. 2019, by type. 36 Before implementing a threat assessment model, IHEs should consult with legal counsel as they develop their threat assessment process, policies, and protocols. Reportedly, the subject suspected he would be fired but had not been officially informed. Threat assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and to creating safe school climates. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Campus Law Enforcement, 2011-2012 (2015). In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, many universities were confronted with the troubling reality that one person can, in a few brief moments, devastate a college community through an act of targeted violence. Witnesses would later testify that the subject stalked the victim prior to the incident and repeatedly informed family and friends that he wanted to kill a cop. This killing spree stunned the nation and questions echoed throughout the country from parents, administrators, and government officials alike. The three entities began by asking fundamental questions, such as: How prevalent are the incidents of targeted violence that affect institutions of higher education (IHEs)? Information related to these elements is particularly difficult to gather from open-sources, which do not always contain complete and accurate reporting. However, such a view neglects the role of campus safety departments and campus threat assessment teams in securing the area surrounding the campus and assessing the threats posed by and to IHE students, faculty, and staff, regardless of whether the ultimate act of violence occurs within the confines of the campus boundaries. Top Resources [6] The more guns there are on a college campus, the more gun threats there are. What is the Most Common Crime on College Campuses? - Esfandi Law Group He then entered a dormitory and resumed firing. Incidents were identified from open-source reporting via a three-step process. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) defines a hate crime as a "criminal offense which is motivated, in whole . In 2019, institutions with residence halls reported higher rates of on-campus crime than institutions without residence halls (23.9 vs. 5.6 per 10,000 FTE students). Accuracy in the news reporting: A review of the research (No. On January 26, 1992, a 22-year-old campus police officer pulled over a nursing student whom he did not know, drove her to a deserted campus parking lot, removed her clothing and shot her 14 times. The subject first approached a security-guard shack on the campus and shot the guard inside. This finding may have tactical and strategic ramifications for first responders and emergency management professionals. Reportedly, the subject had threatened the professor two days prior and a pistol was taken from him by campus police; however, he was not taken into custody at that time. Prior to the incident, the subject was linked to other crimes, which were known to the IHE. He then stripped off his clothing and ran in front of a truck on the highway, killing himself. Among 4-year academic institutions with 2,500 students or more, 75% employ armed officers, a 10% increase in the last decade. The majority of incidents were perpetrated by one individual (n = 270) and, of those, most of the subjects were male (94 percent, n = 254).31 In the incidents where age was reported (n = 260), the range was 16 to 62, with an average age of 28 (Mdn = 25, mode = 20). (2005, June). Recent college campus violence incites concern, leaders encourage vigilance By Megan Brugger - November 23, 2022 1924 The Orem Police Department responds to a shooting at Axis Luxury Student Living. NOTE: Data are for degree-granting institutions, which are institutions that grant associates or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. However, such a view neglects the role of campus safety departments and campus threat assessment teams in securing the area surrounding the campus and assessing the threats posed by and to IHE students, faculty, and staff, regardless of whether the ultimate act of violence occurs within the confines of the campus boundaries. Blanket characterizations, demographic profiles, or stereotypes do not provide a reliable basis for making judgments of the threat posed by a particular individual. 60% (n = 32) current or former non-spouse intimate partners. Campus Safety and Security - ed This translates to 19.5 on-campus crimes reported per 10,000 full-time college students in the U.S. Of these 28,500 reported crimes, 12,300 (43%) were forcible sex offenses. Other reported crimes included burglaries3 (9,000 incidents, or 33 percent of crimes) and motor vehicle thefts (3,100 incidents, or 11 percent of crimes). He hoped that person would be someone known to her. Following the shooting, the subjects father blamed LSD, stating that his son had become a religious fanatic, convinced that Christ was an imposter.. Acquaintance/Stranger-Based Sexual ViolenceDirected assaults that included sexual violence between persons known or not known to each other, excluding those subjects and targets who were current or former intimates. After the former girlfriend convinced him to release all but herself and her roommate, the subject fatally shot them both. NOTE: Data are for degree-granting institutions, which are institutions that grant associates or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. This also includes a subject who was obsessed with a target, of which the target was never aware. Two researchers independently coded these variables following a prescribed protocol. Rockville, MD: Westat. Since 1990, postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal student financial aid programs have been required to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, known as the Clery Act. First, despite the general downward trend over the period, the number of on-campus crimes reported per 10,000 students increased between 2014 and 2017 (from 18.1 to 19.9). The BAU extends its gratitude to: Lesley A. Buckles, Helene V. Christensen, Allison Grupski, Meghann Hudson, Leigh Ann Perry, Kari L. Riddles, Kimberly C. Stamatopoulos, Elizabeth Sutton, and Maria Valdovinos. Together with financial, academic, and geographical factors, one major consideration is campus safety (Merianos et al., 2017). Ensuring the safety of college and university communitiessome of which resemble small citiesis a daunting task. Additionally, although the average subject age was 28 (n = 260, Mdn = 25, mode=20), these preliminary findings highlight the wide range of offenders ages (16 to 62) and suggest the need for a flexible analysis and response protocol. Table 3: Directed Assaults by Decade, 1900-2008. What are the Most Common Violent Crimes on College Campuses? 25). He entered a typing lab in the Business Administration Building, then, in front of 30-40 students, fired off a few shots. 20 The question of whether the affected IHEs were Title IV institutions or degree-granting was set aside for case identification purposes as the Title IV designation was not in effect until after the passage of The Higher Education Act of 1965 and the accreditation status of particular schools evolved over time. 1092(f)), 16 Table 243. The violence documented in the remaining 55 percent of the cases included former students (15 percent), current and former employees (11 percent), subjects indirectly affiliated with the IHE (20 percent), and subjects with no known affiliation with the IHE (9 percent). As noted by former Secretary Spellings, along with former Attorney General Gonzales and former Secretary Leavitt, a number of law enforcement officers, mental health care providers, school officials, and educators have cited the publication, Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates.5 This guide was published jointly by the Secret Service and the Department of Education in May 2002. On November 1, 1991, a 28-year-old former student opened fire in two different buildings on campus. He then drove off and shot himself in the head, but survived the wound. This indicator also appears under School Crime and Safety. 1 The findings of these. Thus, the current project aimed to identify incidents that could fall within the purview of a campus threat assessment. Though he had had no contact with her for nearly three decades, in 1995 he began stalking her. Through our collaboration, we are working to better understand what drives individuals to carry out acts of violence and ultimately how to prevent them in the future. byDiana A. Drysdale Lead Social Science Research Specialist National Threat Assessment Center United States Secret Service. Campus Safety and Security - ed A more in-depth analysis of each of these elements would require additional data other than what is available through open-source. Table 5: Directed Assaults within IHE Buildings, by Locale, 1900-2008. Table 7: Factors that Motivated or Triggered the Directed Assaults. The objective of such studies is to identify and measure the crime problem facing the Nation's more than 90,000 schools and the nearly 50 million students in attendance. On June 13, 2007, based upon the meeting discussions as well as other input, the Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy was issued. See Fein, R.A., Vossekuil, B., & Holden, G. (1995, September). This section begins by reviewing the previous incident-based research, defining the IHE community, and discussing what forms of criminal activity exist within this community. An Underreported Problem: Campus Sexual Misconduct They must also report whether any of these crimes, other crimes involving bodily harm, or larceny, theft, simple assault, intimidation, and destruction, damage or vandalism of property were hate crimes. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. The number of arrests per 10,000 students for liquor law violations decreased from 22.3 in 2009 to 8.5 in 2019. Paul Morrissey Assistant Director Office of Protective Research United States Secret ServiceWilliam Modzeleski Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Department of Education, Robert A. Blecksmith Assistant Director Critical Incident Response Group Federal Bureau of Investigation. Specific Individual Targeted and Victim of Opportunity Killed During the Incident: On December 17, 1983, at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night, a 26-year-old subject who was not affiliated with the affected IHE, arrived at a dormitory to see his former girlfriend, a student, with whom he had become obsessed. Campus threat assessment teams that seek to employ reasoned and effective risk mitigation strategies may recognize the potential significance of findings presented in this preliminary report.36. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Campus Safety and Security Reporting System, 2009 through 2019; and National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2010 through Spring 2020, Fall Enrollment component. After being cornered on a stairwell, he eventually surrendered to police. Examples include the following: On May 19, 1936, possibly upset over academic pressures, a 19-year-old freshman fatally shot one student and wounded another as the students entered his dorm room. Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females and 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. The overall rate of on-campus crimes generally decreased from 2009 to 2019 (from 23.0 to 18.7 per 10,000 FTE students). Uniform Crime Reports on hate crime statistics, the U.S. Depart-ment of Education Campus Security Statistics, and the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) annual survey on campus crime statistics. The victim was sitting in a classroom with others who were waiting for a lecture to begin. If you have been sexually assaulted, it is not your fault. On February 16, 2004, a 38-year-old former student who had worked for a psychology professor at a test center stalked her, went to her off-campus private residence, stabbed, and decapitated her. On October 13, 2008, a 62-year-old, part-time librarian fatally shot a fellow full-time librarian, allegedly after a dispute the previous night over work ethics. After the shooting, the subject sat down and calmly waited for police. The goal of this effort was to identify relevant incidents involving directed assaults and to gather information on the key incident elements that could be gleaned from open-source reporting. Whether the setting is a more traditional campus with distinct boundaries, an urban campus that is interlaced within a larger community, or somewhere in between, most campuses must contend with their own social norms, economy and culture. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Navigating the intricacies of privacy laws, preserving academic freedoms, complying with civil rights laws, and simultaneously ensuring a safe campus and workplace environment are tasks not easily accomplished. As developmental issues and situational stressors change across a lifespan, standard practices should incorporate multidimensional risk factors germane to specific stages, from adolescence to mature adulthood. The subject had been failing and had mailed a 22-page letter and other documents to a local media outlet. In addition, if the subject was affiliated with the affected IHE in more than one way, the subjects primary affiliation was captured (e.g., a full-time student who worked part-time on-campus was designated as a student rather than an employee). Frustrated at being rebuffed, he decided to kill himself and take someone else with him. The student may still be enrolled at the IHE even though he or she is not registered for classes at the time of the incident. More information can be found at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html. In response, Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine established the Virginia Tech Review Panel (VTRP) on June 18, 2007, to gain a better understanding of the incident and its underlying causes so that steps could be taken to minimize the chances of a similar tragedy happening again. Investigators found the body and several notes. On September 26, 1977, distraught over pressures to perform from his parents, a 22-year-old student fatally shot his apartment manager, then grabbed a rifle and one of his handguns and went to the campus. Despite this downward trend, the number of forcible sex offenses increased from 2,500 to 11,800 during the same time period, according to the 2021 Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety. 40 Student Crime Statistics: 2023 Data, Analysis & Predictions Student enrollment in these institutions in the fall of 2006 measured 17.8 million (11.2 million in four-year institutions and 6.5 million in two-year institutions).11, 12 Of these students, 42.7 percent were male and 57.3 percent were female. The subject had completed his degree requirements and was awaiting graduation. Both explosions were accompanied within minutes by racist phone calls to a local TV station, and the last one included a warning that the two blasts were just the beginning. Though there was only minimal damage with no injuries, 400 students withdrew from the university in the aftermath. Figure 4 illustrates how these behaviors overlapped. The Digest, p. 276. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in the federal financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act to maintain and disclose information about certain crimes committed on or near campuses. The next phase will include a more detailed examination of characteristics that were difficult or impossible to measure due to inadequate or missing information in the open-sources (e.g., mental illness, past behavior). After reviewing over 111,800 search results, an additional 198 incidents were identified that met the definition of a directed assault. Expand All 2 The subject, who had completed his degree requirements in December 1995, was told by administrators to stay away from the campus. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov. Additionally, the subject had sent e-mails to his internship supervisor that were sufficiently aggressive in tone that a police officer was stationed outside her classroom for the last three classes the subject attended. Amended three times in 1992, 1998, and 2000, this act was renamed in 1998 the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or the Clery Act, in memory of a student who was killed in her dormitory room in 1986. Pearson (r = 0.924, p< 0.000) correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed). 66 Chilling Student Crime Statistics: 2023 Data & Demographics Across all 272 incidents, the subjects caused 281 deaths and injured 247 individuals. Several subjects also carried out their attacks in multiple locales within the same building, moving from offices and classrooms to common areas, causing injuries and deaths at the different locales (4 percent, n = 7). 1. However, increases occurred in certain years and for certain offenses, which caused the composition of offenses to change. When the information was reported, judgments were made as to its completeness and apparent accuracy. Meetings were subsequently held with college and university representatives, local and state leaders, law enforcement officials, and mental health care providers. The number of crimes committed on college campuses in the United States between 2001 and 2018 has decreased significantly. In years prior to 2014, schools only reported a total number of reported forcible sex offenses, with no breakouts for specific types of offenses. The data are drawn from the OPE Campus Safety and Security Statistics website database to which crime statistics and fire statistics (as of the 2010 data collection) are submitted annually, via a web-based data collection, by all postsecondary institutions that receive Title IV funding (i.e., those that participate in federal student aid programs). All forms of targeted violence were found among the incidents. Numbers shown for 2005 were taken from the aggregate data for 2005-07. For example, more forcible sex offenses were reported at institutions with residence halls than at institutions without them (10.7 vs. 1.3 per 10,000 students), and more burglaries were reported at institutions with residence halls than at institutions without residence halls (7.9 vs. 1.9 per 10,000 students). An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. To conduct NCVS, researchers interview tens of thousands of Americans each year to learn about crimes that theyve experienced. Though no injuries were reported, the building was severely damaged by the racially motivated attack. Open-sources reported stalking or harassing behavior in 52 incidents (19 percent). We addressed fundamental questions regarding where, when, and how these incidents occurred, and captured information concerning the offenders and their relationship to the IHEs. The retaliatory attack could be directed toward a third party. FBI Crime in Schools and Colleges - Federal Bureau of Investigation For the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, these individuals include: Elizabeth Argeris, Deborah Rudy, and Tara Hill. Sorority or fraternity houses that are located within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution are included as on-campus, even if they are not controlled or owned by the IHE. With that, college students caught with alcohol can be charged and/or arrested. While NCVS has a number of limitations (most importantly, children under age 12 are not included), overall, it is the most reliable source of crime statistics in the U.S. We have also relied on other Justice Department studies, as well as data from the Department of Health and Human Services and other government and academic sources. *Data was collected through 2008 and projected for 2009 based on the average number of incidents observed per year from 2000 to 2008. He had reportedly purchased two guns from a mail order house a few days earlier. This translates to 18.7 on-campus crimes reported per 10,000 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students.2 Among the various types of on-campus crimes reported in 2019, there were 11,800 forcible sex offenses, which constituted 43 percent of all criminal incidents. Off-Campus: All other buildings or facilities that may be used by IHE students or IHE employees for housing and/or recreation but are not officially associated with an IHE. In years prior to 2014, schools only reported a total number of forcible sex offenses, with no breakouts for specific types of offenses. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Some institutions that report Clery Act dataspecifically, non-degree-granting institutions and institutions outside of the 50 states and the District of Columbiaare excluded from this figure. These factors are less conducive to observing and recognizing behavioral concerns among the student population. Most victims are stalked by someone they know, most commonly former intimate partners. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Addressing Racial Trauma and Hate Crimes on College Campuses After a foot pursuit, the subject was killed by police. According to the authorities, the candy was spiked with thallium. We hope that this preliminary report contributes to that effort. He then ran outside, randomly firing at passersby, injuring four. College Campus Crime Statistics (Editor's Choice) Over 50% of college students consumed alcohol in the previous month The cost of illegal Adderall is $5-$7 per pill Over 75% of hate crime in college derives from religion, race, or sexual orientation 13% of all students face rape or sexual assault In addition to students, IHE communities comprise employees that include faculty, administration, and support staff. Of those incidents that occurred at on-campus or non-campus sites (n = 217), 36 percent took place in administrative/academic/services buildings, 28 percent took place in residential buildings, and 27 percent took place in parking lots or campus grounds. 9 Degree-granting institutions are defined as postsecondary institutions that grant an associates or higher degree and whose students are eligible to participate in the Title IV federal financial aid programs. Al. Draw Attention to Self/Issue(s)Directed assaults in which the subjects actions were intended to draw attention to the subject, the subjects actions, or a specific issue other than one based on bias. 11 Table 186. Non-Campus: Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institutions educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution.38 Examples include research facilities, university-owned hospitals, off-campus student housing facility owned by a third party that has a written contract with the institution to provide student housing, student residential facility owned or controlled by the institution, a publicly owned athletic stadium that is leased by the institution for its football games. In contrast, IHE campuses usually comprise many buildings, often with larger classrooms, separate faculty for each department, more uncontrolled access and egress, and irregular student schedules that minimize regular contact between educators and students. Call 800.656.4673, Women Ages 18-24 Are at an Elevated Risk of Sexual Violence, Sexual Violence Is More Prevalent at College, Compared to Other Crimes. One of the few reports to look across the spectrum was Max L. Bromleys Campus-Related Murders: A Content Analysis Review of News Articles.6 Bromley examined Chronicle of Higher Education articles from 1989 to 2001 for incidents of campus murder to gain a deeper understanding of the offenders, victims, circumstances, and university or college response. 10 Non-degree granting included institutions that did not offer accredited 4-year or 2-year degree programs, but were participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Crimes on College Campuses. The subject was also connected to another sniper-style attack that took place off-campus at a train station that June. 5 Fein, R., Vossekuil, B., Borum, R., Pollack, W. S., Modzeleski, W., and Reddy, M. (2002, May). A majority of the incidents occurred on-campus (79 percent, n = 214), while approximately one-fifth (19 percent, n = 52) were off-campus. Included range of positions such as: professors, librarians, security, janitorial, other. The subject fatally shot the first in her 2nd-floor office. Thanks to the Clery Act, US colleges and universities receiving financial aid from federal programs must disclose and disseminate a public annual security report to employees and students.This report typically includes statistics on campus crime from the previous three calendar years. Crimes include incidents involving students, staff, and on-campus guests. According to reports, this led police to believe that among the subjects random targets, there was at least one specific target whom the subject intended to harm. In October 2005, the victim had filed a complaint with the police department that the subject was making harassing phone calls to his home. 4 Any sexual act directed against another person forcibly and/or against that persons will. It is clear that focusing solely on the student attacker as a potential threat to campus safety ignores the fact that many IHEs are workplaces, residences, and communities that routinely host a wide range of activities that attract a variety of individuals, many of whom do not have any direct relationship to the college or university. Considering specific types of reported offenses, the rate per 10,000 students was lower in 2019 than in 2009 for robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Association of American Universities (AAU). National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995-2013 (2015); The real healing was achieved when I started to sincerely believe Im not responsible for what happened to me. He was suspected in a series of campus fires, firing a bullet through a dormitory window, inventing a break-in, calling a suspect at home, and phoning in a bomb threat. This report provides an overview of these incidents and the involved subjects, discusses initial observations regarding behaviors of the subjects, and offers preliminary considerations regarding the data that may have relevance to threat assessment. 8 Title IV institutions are defined as all post-secondary institutions whose students are eligible to participate in the Title IV federal financial aid programs. Table 5. Of note, looking at the media sources searched in Lexis-Nexis, the largest resource used in identifying incidents, the states with the most incidents coincided with the states with the most newspapers and wire services. Although it was recognized that multiple factors may have motivated or triggered the offenders violent acts, efforts were made to identify the most prominent ones and the incidents were categorized accordingly.