Each year, the university releases its annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which tracks both the number of crimes and fire-related incidents on the Bexley main campus and surrounding areas, as well as the Law School campus in downtown Columbus.
The most recent of these combined reports tracks the data from the years 2020-2022.
According to a previous article by the Chimes, detailing the previous safety report covering the years 2017-2019, the crime statistics listed mostly come from reports to university police or to the Title IX office, for sex offenses including rape, fondling, incest, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. Actual arrests are not reflected.
In this recent three-year period, most crimes showed either no occurrence or only minor growth.
In 2022, there were only two instances of fondling as compared to the recorded six instances in 2020, a decline of 66%.
There were also no recorded instances of stalking compared to two instances in 2021. Other criminal acts such as manslaughter, arson, and aggravated assault also showed no reported instances.
However, there have been a few notable exceptions, primarily in regards to rape, burglary, and domestic violence.
In 2022, the main campus saw four reports of rape compared to three instances in both previous years.
There were three recorded instances of domestic violence compared to none reported in both 2020 and 2021.
Burglary and motor vehicle theft also rose on campus, with three reported instances of each in 2022.
Arrests have remained relatively low on campus, with weapons law and liquor law violation-related arrests remaining almost non-existent. However, there were five arrests in 2022 for drug law violations.
There were no reported hate crimes during the reported period.
A few fires also occurred in on-campus apartments; however, damage was minimal and there was no reported intent.
The law campus has remained nearly crime-free, with only sparse instances of robbery and motor vehicle theft occurring on public property.
