Get Help Series
Campus Crime
Overview
Overview
The absence of immediate oversight by
parents and caretakers offers college students the freedom to make choices,
develop personally and experiment. While these are natural and necessary
components of maturation, they also create an environment susceptible to crime
and victimization. Incidents of drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault and hate
crimes are common on today
=s
college campuses.
Many youths experiment with alcohol and
other drugs in their dormitories or at college parties. While underage
consumption of alcohol or drugs is illegal, but not violent in nature, violence
is often the result of such consumption. In fact, studies indicate that over
half of all rapes on college campuses involve alcohol (Towson State University
Campus Violence Prevention Center, 1991).
The fastest growing population of rape victims
is among students. Four out of five of all rapes are committed by acquaintances
(National Center for Victims of Crime & Crime Victims Research and Treatment
Center, 1992). Often considered covered-up crimes, rapists on college campuses
have rarely been prosecuted. This is because many victims are discouraged by
college authorities from reporting crimes to local law enforcement agencies and,
instead, are encouraged to file complaints only with the campus justice
systems. This practice protects the reputation of the school, but may increase
the impact and consequences of the crime on the victim, who is often forced to
continue living in the same facility as the perpetrator with little or no sense
of justice done or punishment imposed.
Congress addressed this problem
through two measures the Student Right to Know Act of 1991, which requires
colleges and universities to track crimes on campus and to report them to local
police, and the Campus Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights of 1992, which
provides criminal justice remedies for victims of sexual assault.
While
fraternities promote self-improvement, they can also present an environment
which promulgates negative stereotypes, dangerous attitudes, and abuse of
alcohol and/or other drugs. The result is that more college gang rapes occur at
fraternity chapter houses than any other college location. Acquaintance rapes
occasionally occur during or after fraternity parties.
In addition to sexual crimes, some fraternity or sorority
members abuse or attack pledges or other members under the guise of
hazing. The absence of dorm advisors or house supervisors exacerbates the
problem combining little or no supervision with new-found freedoms.
From swastikas painted on doors and
threatening telephone calls to violent personal attacks, the prevalence of hate
crimes is increasing on college campuses. Colleges endeavor to assemble
diverse student bodies and, for many students, this is their first true
interaction with people of different cultural, religious, racial and
socio-economic backgrounds, as well as different sexual orientations. When
tolerance is challenged, violent expressions of contempt can
result.
Institutional
Response to Campus Crime
Many colleges and universities are rapidly becoming more
concerned about the safety of their students. This has resulted from an
increased awareness of the prevalence of campus crime, lawsuits against
institutions for failure to protect, and pressure from students and college communities. Many schools
are increasing lighting around campuses, enhancing security through better
security equipment and more security officers, and establishing student
crime-watch groups.
Students and colleges
are also improving institutional responses to crime through measures such
as:
- Establishing a cooperative response and action with
local law enforcement;
- Providing support groups and
counseling for victims;
- Promoting crime awareness and
personal protection campaigns; and
- Developing stronger rules and
regulations.
Yet more must be done
to change behavior, and success can only be achieved through the combined
efforts of students, parents, faculty, administration, communities and
lawmakers.
Victims are encouraged
to report the crime to authorities for many reasons, including:
- Many of the crime victim compensation programs (the
governmental agencies that provide financial assistance to victims for aid in
their physical and emotional recovery from violent crime) require immediate
reporting to police;
- Statistics show that crimes reported
sooner rather than later have higher arrest rates; and
- Authorities may be able to
direct victims to further assistance.
Please note that although all crime victims are encouraged to
report the crime, not everyone will feel comfortable entering the criminal
justice process. The choice about whether or not to report belongs to the
victim. Reporting is not required to receive crisis counseling or medical
care.
Depending on the location of the crime (whether
on or off campus), and any special circumstances surrounding the crime, campus
crime victims may report an incident of crime to:
- Campus police;
- Local police;
- Resident/hall advisors or, in the case
of fraternity/sorority organizations, alumni advisors;
- Crisis or counseling centers;
and/or
- Local or state victim
assistance programs.
Because being a crime
victim can be both physically and psychologically traumatic in the short and
long term, many victims seek the support of professionals throughout their
recovery. Professional assistance, or referrals for assistance, may be available
through the following resources:
-
Campus/residence hall staff;
-
On/off campus crisis centers;
-
School counseling services;
-
Victim assistance programs;
-
Community mental health agencies (check local
telephone listings); and/or
-
The National Center for Victims of
Crime (1-800-FYI-CALL).
National
Center for Victims of Crime and Crime
Victims Research and Treatment Center. (1992). Rape in
America: A
Report to the Nation.
Arlington, VA:
National Center for Victims of Crime and Crime Victims Research
and Treatment
Center.
Student Right to Know Act of 1991; Campus Sexual Assault
Victims
= Bill
of Rights Amendment to the Higher Education Re-authorization Act of
1992.
Towson
State University Campus Violence Prevention Center. (1991). 1990 National Campus Violence Survey. Towson, MD: Campus Violence Prevention Center.
Office
of Postsecondary Education, Police, Planning and Innovation. (2001). The Incidence of Crime on the
Campuses of U.S. Postsecondary Education
Institutions. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education.
For additional information, please
contact:
Campus
Violence Prevention Center
Towson
State University
Administration
Building
Room
110
Towson,
MD
21204
(410) 830 - 2178
Committee
to Halt Useless College Killings (CHUCK)
P.O.
Box
188
Sayville,
NY
11782
(516)
567 - 1130
(Anti-hazing organization)
The
Prejudice Institute
Center
for the Applied Study of Ethnoviolence
Towson
State University
Stephens
Hall Annex
Room
132
Baltimore,
MD
21204
(410) 366-9654
Security
on Campus
215
West Church Road
Suite
200
King
of Prussia,
PA
19406
(610)
768 - 9330
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by the National Center for Victims of
Crime. This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed
free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.