Collegiate Times

New statistics show Virginia Tech students were charged with nearly three times as many alcohol-related crimes as students at the University of Virginia and James Madison University for 2008.

The numbers come from the latest Clery Act crime statistics, released for the Tech campus and surrounding areas, and other college campuses across the nation each October.

The Clery Act, short for the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, is a report that provides the numbers of specific crimes that have happened on campus within the past year. Universities that receive federal financial aid are required to issue the report by Oct. 1 each year and can be fined up to $27,000 if they fail to do so.

The numbers represented in the 2008 Clery Act report are not surprising or unexpected, according to Tech Police Officer Geof Allen.

“Our crime here at Virginia Tech tends to be very predictable,” Allen said.

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UVa reported a total of 80 liquor law arrests and JMU reported a total of 87. The UVa report also stated, “alcohol arrests are down considerably, due in part to the fact that many are made during joint patrol with the City of Charlottesville in areas not immediately adjacent to campus.”

The areas covered by the report are hard to define, which can make reading and understanding these crime statistics more difficult.

For example, if someone were to steal a car in Squires parking lot, that would be included in the Clery Act report. However, if someone were to steal a car from the parking lot behind a bar downtown, that crime would not be included in the report.

Although the report may be hard to understand for those who are unfamiliar with its details, it is very useful for police officers.

“It is used for how we base our patrols,” Allen said. “For example, if we know we have a lot of theft in a parking lot like the Cage, then we send more officers and patrols to the Cage. Most thefts occur toward the end of the semester, near final times because kids are usually distracted and aren’t paying as much attention. We know that around these times, we need to strengthen our patrols.”

The other major problem with the statistics is that they are simply numbers, so to the average individual they might symbolize a problem that in fact does not exist.

“The problem with statistics is that people are scared. Statistics are used intentionally to create fear,” Allen said.

The Clery Act was named after Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old freshman at Lehigh University who was raped and murdered in her residence in 1986. Clery’s parents realized students at the university had not been made aware of 38 violent crimes that had occurred on the campus in the previous three years. The law passed in 1990.

According to the Tech Police Web site, “the purpose of the report is to provide information about security on campus to include: campus and community crime statistics, fire statistics and safety information, policy information, safety tips, resource phone numbers and a brief overview of the many services the university provides.”

The report includes crime statistics from all property considered to be part of the Tech campus, as well as any immediately adjacent streets and the Math Emporium. Any off-campus apartment housing is not included.

The areas included and the crimes depicted in the report are standardized for each university that is required to release it.

“Every university or state should be able to conform to these titles,” Allen said.

The crimes measured in the report are very specific and some are even left out.

“The most common issue on our campus is theft, and that isn’t even included in the report,” Allen said.

The report measures burglary, which is different from theft because it is defined as entering someone’s private property, such as a dorm room, to take their belongings. There were 64 cases of burglary in 2008.