Crime, alcohol and drug-related incidents have increased on Oswego State’s campus in the past year, according to an annual survey conducted by University Police.
University Police recently published the annual Clery Report, which is a written report mandated for all college campuses to disclose campus security policies and campus crimes.
“The safety and well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors is important to SUNY campus communities,” University Police Chief John Rossi said. “The Board of Trustees of the State University of New York have long required that each campus have a personal safety committee to review issues and make recommendations to ensure a safe and secure environment. Crime prevention and safety recommendations are continually disseminated throughout each of the 64 campuses.”
Formally known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and the Campus Crimes Statistics Act, it is the duty of all college campuses nationwide to publish the report.
Since 1986, following the brutal death of 19-year-old Jeanne Clery, the Clery report is enacted to connect campus happenings to the outside world. Clery’s parents pushed for the act after their daughter was murdered in her college dorm and realized there was no way to have known that she was in danger.
“The best education in the world is useless if a student doesn’t survive with a healthy mind and body,” the Clery parents stated on their website, clerycenter.org.
The 40-page report encompasses information pertaining to logistics on campus, transportation, campus health centers and the comparative crime reports, as well as general information.
The 2017 report varied slightly from the ones published in 2016 and 2015. However, in categories such as liquor law discipline, the report showed an increase from 109 in 2015 to 138 in 2016, and reports of burglary had increased from four in 2015 to 13 in 2016.
According to the police chief, the numbers have not significantly increased or decreased in the past year. The police department can use these numbers over time to examine trends, as they have been submitting their crime reports to the FBI and the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services since the 1970s when they officially became a law enforcement agency.
“We have filed the Clery report since the early 1990s. The crime statistics in the mid-to-late 1990s were significantly higher than the last few years,” Rossi said.
“I would say 2015 was one of our safest years on record. I attribute this to the programs the college offers through the Lifestyles Center, our increased training with residence hall senior staff and additional training that was offered to RAs,” Rossi said. “Also, our dedicated patrol officers, supervisors and investigative staff who are out there in all types of conditions 24/7 making sure we are doing everything possible to make this a safe and secure environment.”
The annual Clery report can be found on University Police’s website. Hard copies are also available from Campus Life in 121 Marano Campus Center, the Office of Student Conduct or the University Police station.
Photo: Rachel Futterman | The Oswegonian
