Although there have been no arrests for a liquor law violation in the past six years, disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations has fluctuated a great deal. There were 42 violations in 1997, 86 in 1998, 57 in 1999, 80 in 2000, 62 in 2001 and 171 in 2002.
Carter explained that the practice of charging all members of a room for a keg is one reason for the increase in alcohol offenses.
"A slight shift in practice at the Campus Police accounts for the numbers," said Chief of Campus Police John Carter. "There are not more infractions than before, but the police were instructed to include names in the reports of intervention in underage drinking," said Carter.
According to Carter, Campus Police intervenes the most in first-year dormitories, which are all supposed to be alcohol-free. Following intervention, Campus Police is required to keep track of the number of times they report an individual who has committed an offense to an administrator.
"I send each and every report to the Dean of Students; therefore this is a referral. It doesn't matter if the person is punished, counseled or nothing is done," said Carter. These ongoing reports ensure that Campus Police is fulfilling its requirements in response to liquor law violations.
On the whole, the decreased number of crimes on campus is encouraging. Burglary and larceny, although still frequent, are declining somewhat. The report stated that the number of burglaries has remained relatively constant since 1997, although the number of instances did decrease from 26 in 2001 to 20 in 2002.
Acts of larceny dropped by 31 instances between 1997 and 2000, increased by 22 instances to 88 instances in 2001, and decreased only slightly to 84 instances in 2002.
Forcible sex offenses continue to decrease, according to the report. Between 1997 and 1999, instances of forcible sex offenses remained fairly constant, but since 1999 have continued to decrease from 13 to only four instances in 2002.
There were no instances of motor vehicle theft in 2002. There had been two the year before.
Aggravated assault, however, has fluctuated over the past six years, increasing from zero to four overall. In 1997, there were no aggravated assaults. There was one instance in 1998, none in 1999 and two in 2000. There were no instances in 2001, but there were four in 2002.
Carter kept the matter in perspective. "When numbers are as small as the aggravated assaults generally are, any increase seems high. That being said, the end of the fall 2002 semester was troublesome and Homecoming in particular was busy. Nov. 9 and 10 account for three of the assaults."