Reported forcible sex offenses increased to 24 in 2012 from 15 in 2011, while burglary reports increased to 16 from nine the year before. Liquor law arrests dropped to 16 from 40, while liquor law violations referred for disciplinary action more than doubled, with 83 in 2012 and 40 in 2011. Drug law arrests increased to 16 from 12, and drug law violations referred for disciplinary actions doubled from 10 to 20. Arson reports increased to three in 2012 from two in 2011.
Sexual assault remains a national concern, and College spokesperson Justin Anderson said the administration continues to work to create an environment where individuals feel comfortable reporting incidents.
"We know that sexual assault is a notoriously underreported crime," he said of the increases in reports of forcible sex offenses in 2012. "We certainly hope that this is a result of our efforts to effectively communicate with the community."
Last year, the College began the Dartmouth Bystander Intervention program to help prevent sexual assault and hazing on campus and created an additional Sexual Assault Awareness Program coordinator position. In the spring, the Health Promotion and Wellness office, which includes SAAP, moved to a more central location in Robinson Hall from Dick's House.
"Last year, we centralized all of our sexual assault resources under one roof," Anderson said. "We think that a central location makes help more accessible and more likely that people will seek it out."
Safety and Security alerted campus of an incident on Sept. 21, when a female College employee reported that she was sexually assaulted by an unidentified male near Novack Cafe. Recent campus-wide emails from Safety and Security as well as Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson have emphasized College resources and the administration's efforts to promote a safe campus.
In her email to campus yesterday, Johnson encouraged students to report crimes to Safety and Security and local authorities and stated that the report does not reflect the actual numbers of sexual assault incidents in the nation.
"We know that the numbers reflected here and in similar reports across the country do not reflect the actual incidence of sexual assault on college campuses nationwide," Johnson wrote in an email yesterday. "It is estimated that nationally, one in four women have been victims of sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault, yet only one in 10 rapes are reported. We also know that same gender sexual assaults are significantly underreported."
Anderson said that the high volume of emails sent out by Safety and Security in the last few weeks, including the report of sexual assault and a suspected arson at Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity on Sept. 13, does not reflect the general prevalence of sexual assault or crime at the College.
"I think you can't judge one week, the sample size is too small," he said. The only area that showed improvement in safety report was in liquor law arrests, which decreased to 16 from last year. Anderson credited the drop in arrests and simultaneous increase in corresponding disciplinary action to communication between the College and the town of Hanover to keep students safe.
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is a compilation of campus security policies and procedures in accordance with the Clery Act, a federal law requiring colleges to disclose campus crime statistics. If an institution does not comply with the Clery Act, the government may impose sanctions that could terminate federal financial aid programs. Last May, students and alumni from Dartmouth and other universities, including the University of California at Berkeley, filed a Clery Act complaint against their respective institutions.
Dartmouth is also currently under a Title IX investigation by the Education Department, which is reviewing the College's sexual harassment and assault policies and procedures. Title IX investigations are ongoing at Occidental College, Swarthmore and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hanover Police and Safety and Security could not be reached by press time.
