An In-Depth Look at Campus Crime This Semester

Anne Cruz, News Editor

More than 160 crimes occurred on-campus during the spring semester — 162 to be exact. Each week, WSN compiles reports from the NYU Department of Public Safety for our crime log. However, a week-to-week glance at on-campus crime is not very useful for determining overall trends in campus safety. WSN gathered information from every incident listed on NYU’s posted Crime Reports and Statistics for this semester and consolidated it in one single crime log map for the semester. Here are some of the highlights:

The highest-rate crime was larceny, with 84 cases in total. Larceny differs from burglary and robbery in that a thief does not unlawfully trespass when they commit larceny, and they do not forcefully take an object from a person who is present during the crime. There were seven cases of burglary and one case of robbery. 

The place with the largest number of incident reports was Bobst Library, which had 13 incidents of larceny, one incident of forcible fondling and one incident of harassment.

A majority of crimes reported to the Department of Public Safety were centralized around Washington Square Park. Only eight crimes were reported on the Tandon campus while the rest of the incidents took place in Manhattan.

Almost 41 percent of incidents were reported in NYU Residence Halls. Third Avenue North Residence Hall and Weinstein Residence Hall tied for the most number of incidents in a residence hall, with nine incidents each.

Of the 162 incident reports this semester, 31 were referred to the NYPD. Five cases were referred to the Title IX Office of Investigations.

NYU Spokesman Matt Nagel said the Department of Public safety aims to create a safe environment for all members of the NYU community. He also clarified that the crime data posted onto NYU’s website each month differs from the annual security report in which NYU must disclose specific crimes by federal law.

“The daily crime log includes all crimes, both felony and misdemeanor, reported to Public Safety that took place on campus and in other university owned or controlled locations,” Nagel said. “The crime statistics that appear in NYU’s Annual Security Report are based on reports of specific crimes designated under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, which is required by federal law.”

He also stressed that students should not leave valuable items unattended, especially electronics, wallets and bicycles.

“Students should never leave valuable property unattended,” Nagel said.” Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the NYPD’s Operation ID days at NYU and have their electronic devices registered to make it easier for the police to identify them if they’re stolen.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, May 1 print edition. Email Anne Cruz at [email protected].