The latest crime report covers three years, 2006 to 2008, and responds to a federal law requiring all college campuses to report their crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education and the public by Oct. 1 each year.

OUPD Lt. Rich Russell said extensive alcohol and drug education efforts, as well as the tougher sanctions recently implemented, are making the difference.

"Many factors contribute in the reduced numbers, but the education efforts of the Student Affairs staff have been outstanding," Russell said.

In the latest campus crime statistics compiled by the police department, on-campus alcohol violations fell by 311 from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, there were a combined 646 alcohol arrests and referrals in the residence halls compared to 957 the previous year. These numbers include alcohol arrests and alcohol violations referred to Ohio University Judiciaries.

Another area that witnessed a reduction was drug violations in the residence halls. There were 188 arrests and referrals in 2008 compared to 212 in 2007.

There was also a reduction in burglaries in the residence halls in 2008. Last year there were 19 burglaries compared to 29 in 2007.

Russell said it's good to see that students are being more serious about protecting their valuables and he again credited the proactive education efforts of the university that urges students to always lock their rooms and safeguard their valuables.

"I thank Lt. Rich Russell for his hard work in compiling these statistics each year," said Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers. "While it is hard to draw conclusions from campus crime statistics, it is very important to share them each year with the university and the public."

The Clery report also includes statistics from Ohio University's five regional campuses and two regional centers.

The complete report is available online in PDF format.

-- George Mauzy