URBANA, Ill. – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Tuesday published its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which is intended to increase public awareness of safety trends on campus.

The report, which is available at https://police.illinois.edu/clery, includes statistics from the previous three years concerning reported crime that occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It also includes statistics for fires in on-campus student housing.

The bulk of the report includes institutional policies concerning campus security and other safety information, along with fire safety policies and procedures. The information is provided in compliance with a federal law, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act.

Some notes from the 2018 report:

• Reports of robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft on campus remain relatively low, and 2017 saw a small decrease of reports in those categories.
• Reports of sexual violence (like rape, fondling, domestic violence and stalking) increased, following a national trend. Many of these incidents involve offenders who are acquaintances of those whom the offender targets. It is believed that this increase in reporting is because of an increased willingness of our community members to come forward following campus efforts to bring awareness to reporting options and resources.
• Liquor and drug law arrests on campus remained exceptionally low, with most offenders being referred to the student disciplinary office instead of getting a ticket or being taken to jail.
• There were seven fires in University Housing facilities in 2017, compared to 15 in 2016 and seven in 2015.

Campus officials said they hope community members will use the information in the report to enhance their awareness of campus security policies and public safety issues.

“Creating and maintaining a safe community is a responsibility the University of Illinois Police Department, University Housing and Campus Code Compliance and Fire Safety take very seriously, but we cannot do it alone,” Police Chief Craig Stone said Tuesday in a mass email to campus. “Crime and fire prevention is a community effort, and you are our most valuable public safety resource.”