Crime Statistics

The Clery Act is a federal law requiring colleges and universities to annually disclose by October 1st information about Clery Act reportable crimes within its campus geography. Each year, Ohio University, publishes the annual security and fire safety report and submits crime statistics to the United States Department of Education (DOE). The crime statistics are reported for the previous three calendar years.

The statistics reflect the number of reported incidents of Clery reportable crimes which include: murder, manslaughter, rape, fondling, incest, statutory rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, liquor law arrests, drug law arrests, weapon law arrests, and disciplinary referrals for liquor law, drug law, and weapon law violations. If the above listed crimes/violations were based on bias against actual or perceived members of certain groups, the crimes can be classified as hate crimes and are reported. Additional hate crimes related to larceny/theft, simple assault, intimidation, and vandalism/property crime are also reported. It is important to note the Clery crime definitions may vary from Ohio law.

The Clery crime statistics include crimes reported to OUPD and law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction on Ohio University’s Clery geography. The crime statistics also include crimes submitted by campus security authorities.

Crime Definitions

  1. Sexual Assault (Sex Offense) Definitions
    Any sexual act directed against another person, without consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent.
    1. Sexual Assault Classifications: The following definitions were used to classify reported sexual assaults:
      1. Rape: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.
      2. Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
      3. Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
      4. Statutory Rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
  2. Crime Definitions
    As per the Clery Act, the following definitions were used to classify reported offenses.
    1. Arson: Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.
    2. Aggravated Assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. (It is not necessary that injury result from an aggravated assault when a gun, knife, or other weapon is used which could and probably would result in a serious personal injury if the crime were successfully completed.)
    3. Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. For reporting purposes this definition includes unlawful entry with the intent to commit a larceny or felony, breaking and entering with the intent to commit a larceny, housebreaking, safecracking, and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
    4. Manslaughter by Negligence: The killing of another person through gross negligence.
    5. Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter: The willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.
    6. Motor Vehicle Theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. (All cases where automobiles are taken by persons not having lawful access even though the vehicles are later abandoned, including joyriding, are classified as motor vehicle thefts.)
    7. Robbery: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
    8. Hazing: Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person to participate, that is committed in the course of initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in a student organization and causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education of physical or psychological injury.
    9. Drug Law Violations: The violation of laws prohibiting the production, distribution and/or use of certain controlled substances and the equipment or devices utilized in their preparation and/or use. The unlawful cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled drug or narcotic substance. Arrests for violations of state and local laws, specifically those relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing and making of narcotic drugs. The relevant substances include: opium or cocaine and their derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana; synthetic narcotics – manufactured narcotics which can cause true addiction (Demerol, methadone); and dangerous non-narcotic drugs (barbiturates, Benzedrine).
    10. Liquor Law Violations: The violations of laws or ordinances prohibiting: the manufacture, sale, transporting, furnishing, or possession of intoxicating liquor; maintaining unlawful drinking places; bootlegging; operating a still; furnishing liquor to a minor or intemperate person; underage possession; using a vehicle for illegal transportation of liquor, drinking on a train or public conveyance; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned. (Drunkenness and driving while under the influence are not included in this definition.)
    11. Weapon Law Violations: The violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices, or other deadly weapons. This classification encompasses weapons offenses that are regulatory in nature, such as the manufacture, sale, or possession of deadly weapons; carrying deadly weapons, concealed or openly; using, manufacturing, etc. of silencers; furnishing deadly weapons to minors; aliens possessing deadly weapons; and all attempts to commit any of the aforementioned.
  3. Violence Against Women Act Offense Definitions
    The “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013” (VAWA) created amendments to the Clery Act. One such addition was implementing three new types of reportable offenses, seen below. VAWA also added two categories of bias for the reporting of hate crimes (see section V below).
    1. Domestic Violence: The term “domestic violence” includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.
    2. Dating Violence: The term “dating violence” means violence committed by a person: 
      1. who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and
      2. where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors
        1. the length of the relationship;
        2. the type of relationship; and
        3. the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
    3. Stalking: The term “stalking” means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: 
      1. fear for his or her safety or for the safety of others; or
      2. suffer substantial emotional distress.
  4. Violence Against Women Act Policy Definitions
    1. Awareness Programs: Awareness programs refers to programs, campaigns, or initiatives that increase audience knowledge of the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking and share information and resources to prevent interpersonal violence, promote safety, and reduce perpetration. These efforts can include campus community-wide mobilizations as well as targeted, audience-specific programming (including both students and employees). Awareness month campaigns, “Speak Outs,” rallies or marches, informational poster campaigns or resource websites, and educational programming that focuses on sharing resources and information about these issues are examples of awareness programs.
    2. Bystander Intervention: Bystander intervention refers to safe and positive options that may be carried out by an individual or individuals to prevent harm or intervene in situations of potential harm when there is a risk of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a person other than the individual. Effective bystander intervention training prepares participants to recognize situations of potential harm, overcome barriers to intervening, identify safe and effective intervention options, and take action.
    3. Ongoing Prevention and Awareness Campaigns: Ongoing awareness and prevention campaigns refers to campaigns that are sustained over time focusing on increasing awareness or understanding of topics relevant to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking prevention. These programs will occur at different levels throughout the institution (i.e., faculty, athletics, incoming students, etc.) and will utilize a range of strategies. Ongoing awareness and prevention campaigns may include information about what constitutes sexual assault, dating violence/intimate partner abuse, and stalking; changing social norms; promoting recognition of perpetrator tactics; enhancing understanding of consent; and advancing prosocial behaviors of individuals and communities. Effective ongoing awareness and prevention campaigns will include developmentally appropriate content for the specific audience and their knowledge and awareness level and provide positive and concrete ways for individuals to get involved.
    4. Primary Prevention Programs: Primary prevention refers to programming, initiatives, and strategies intended to stop domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking before it occurs, preventing initial perpetration or victimization through the promotion of positive and healthy behaviors and beliefs. Efforts to change behavior and social norms; promote healthy relationships, healthy sexuality and egalitarian gender roles; understand risk factors and protective factors for bystander inaction; and change social norms around bystander inaction are all examples of primary prevention.
    5. Risk Reduction: Risk reduction refers to approaches that seek to mitigate risk factors that may increase the likelihood of perpetration, victimization, or bystander inaction. Risk reduction focuses on helping individuals and communities address the institutional structures or cultural conditions that facilitate sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking to increase safety. Examples of risk reduction may include, but are not limited to, general crime prevention education, campus escort programs, programs that educate on how to create individual and community safety plans and strategies, bystander intervention programs that educate the campus on how to recognize and interrupt situations of harm, and communications systems that can notify the entire campus community of immediate threats to security.

  5. Hate Crimes
    Ohio University reports all Hate Crimes that occur within its Clery geography. Hate Crimes are reported based on the listed crimes below and are committed intentionally because of Race, Gender, Gender Identity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, Disability, or National Origin.

    The following crimes are reported: Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Negligent Manslaughter, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Motor Vehicle Theft, Arson, Burglary, Sexual Assaults (rape, fondling, incest, and statutory rape), VAWA offenses (domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), Larceny-Theft, Intimidation, and Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property. The hate crime statistics for each campus can be found at the bottom of their Campus Statistics table.

  6. VI. Geographic Locations
    1. On-Campus: Defined as (A) Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and (B) Any building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to the area identified in paragraph (A) of this definition, that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes (such as a food or retail vendor).
    2. Non-Campus Building or Property: Defined as (A) Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or (B) Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution.
    3. Public Property: Defined as all public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus