Emory's main campus saw a 56 percent increase in liquor law disciplinary referrals, a 68 percent drop in drug violation disciplinary referrals and a 243 percent increase in burglaries between 2012 and 2013, according to Emory's annual security report released in an all-Emory email.
The number of drug law violation referrals dropped from 144 to 36, the number of liquor law disciplinary referrals rose from 185 to 289 and the number of burglaries increased from seven to 24.
The annual report is released in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which requires that universities that accept federal funding release crime and violation statistics. The Clery Act, which is enforced by the United States Department of Education, was signed in 1990 and was originally referred to as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act.
The report does not release statistics from the current year but instead focuses on the previous calendar year, which is 2013 in the current report. The report also includes security statistics from around Emory's various campuses including the Oxford College campus, the Emory University Hospital Midtown campus and the Carter Center campus, among others.
Other statistics highlighted in the report include forcible sexual offenses, which dropped by three reported incidents from the previous year from 25 to 22, and the number of motor vehicle thefts, which dropped from eight to five in 2012.
Although there was a 56 percent rise in liquor law disciplinary referrals and a 68 percent drop in drug law violation disciplinary referrals, Campus Life's protocols on how they refer students accused of violating drug and alcohol laws have not changed since last year, Beverly Clark, senior communications officer in the Office of University Media Relations wrote in an email to the Wheel.
However, Clark mentioned that certain national studies have suggested that there has been an increase in the use of prescription drugs and other substances by college students that cannot be easily detected, which may explain the decrease in drug law violation disciplinary referrals.
Campus Life will continue to monitor, educate and enforce student drug and alcohol policies and provide services that promote and support student wellness, Clark wrote.
While the number of forcible sexual offenses dipped slightly, Clark wrote that "Emory takes all complaints and accusations of sexual misconduct seriously."
She added that the University allocates various resources to the Emory community for support, reporting and advocacy with "a priority on prevention to work toward a bold goal of eradicating sexual violence on our campus."
The statistics in the security report are compiled from various sources including incidents reported to Emory Police, Campus Life, DeKalb County Police and other security entities on Emory's campus, according to Clark.
The entire report can be found here.
– By Dustin Slade, News Editor
UPDATE 10/3 at 3:24 p.m.: The article was updated with additional numbers that were not included in the original version in order to clarify the meaning behind some statistics in the article.
