According to the U.S. Department of Education, crimes on college campuses are increasing. Its latest data show 31,368 crimes were reported in 2021 and 38,303 were reported in 2022. The National Center for Education Statistics contends: "Due to underreporting, figures for reported offenses, arrests, and disciplinary referrals likely do not capture all incidents that occurred."
Despite this upward trajectory, available data fails to reveal the true impact of such harrowing and potentially life-altering experiences. From this data, we know too little about the nature and extent of crimes occurring on college campuses. We currently have no idea of the actual direct and indirect consequences of crimes on college campuses, despite the determinative factors being within our skill set to identify and measure.
Consequently, this gap in our knowledge leaves us currently unable to answer the question posed by every college president, i.e., "What steps can the college take to make this campus a safer place for students, staff, faculty and visitors?"
Crimes Reported
Currently, as in previous decades, the majority of criminal acts on college campuses includes mischief or non-violent misdemeanor offenses. In response to such, it is generally assumed that some college students, due to their lack of maturity, will engage in such behavior. Overall, the college experience is generally viewed as a means of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. The steps taken to address this type of conduct usually include increased uniformed patrols, better lighting, and bigger locks.
Within the past decade, college campuses have reported more serious crimes, including homicides, sexual assaults, hate crimes, and mass shootings. Among the steps taken in response are limiting access to the campus, installation of 911 phone stations, video surveillance, armed uniformed campus police, and student escorts at night. Despite these steps, the types and amounts of serious crimes occurring on college campuses are steadily increasing.
The serious crimes colleges report to the U.S. Department of Education and other entities typically fall into the following categories: murder, negligent manslaughter, sex offenses (forcible and nonforcible), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, and additional reporting for hate crimes.
Internet or Cyber Crimes
Not included, however, is a category for crimes broadly called "internet or cyber crimes". This category of crimes causes victims to experience financially devastating exploitation, such as identity and credit card theft, by unidentifiable complete strangers, and/or emotionally traumatizing stalking/doxing/defaming/ shaming conduct by persons with whom they have personally interacted. Because these crimes occur on college campuses too, it is imperative data on the nature and extent of internet or cyber crimes be collected and analyzed.
Impact of Crimes
The impact of crimes on victims, especially students, is disheartening. Studies suggest that numerous psychological and health related conditions stem from actual and perceived crime victimization experiences. Examples of such include, but are not limited to, anxiety/depression, drug/alcohol abuse, and suicide ideation. The research literature also indicates that crime victimization experiences on college campuses have lingering effects beyond the actual campus environment.
Beyond the financial and emotional toll experienced by direct victims, the institutional impact of crimes on college campuses has resulted in a variety of detrimental outcomes, including an unfavorable reputation, decreased financial support, accreditation issues, costly litigation, and decreased levels of enrollment, retention, and graduation.
Recommendation
Frankly, we need more and better information about crimes on college campuses, in general, and crimes on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) campuses, in particular.
The vast majority of rigorous empirical research regarding crimes on college campuses is not conducted on HBCU campuses. Whether the results of research conducted on predominantly white campuses (PWI), and the strategies advanced as a result thereof, can be extrapolated to and successfully implemented on HBCU campuses is questionable.
Therefore, original rigorous empirical research should be conducted on a representative sample of the 100+ HBCU campuses. This research should be conducted by full-time faculty on HBCU campuses. The research objectives should include collection of data on internet or cyber crimes and designed to capture some of the unreported crimes about which NCES writes.
The goal of this research should be to develop and implement effective preventive and reparative strategies. In other words, obtain the answer asked by college presidents, i.e., "What steps can the college take to make this campus a safer place for students, staff, faculty and visitors?"